The Satanic Phenomenon: Medieval Representations of Satan

Rollins College
Rollins Scholarship Online
Masters of Liberal Studies Theses
2011
The Satanic Phenomenon: Medieval
Representations of Satan
Morgan A. Matos
MMATOS@Rollins.edu
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Matos, Morgan A., "The Satanic Phenomenon: Medieval Representations of Satan" (2011). Masters of Liberal Studies Theses. Paper 28.
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The Satanic Phenomenon: Medieval
Representations of Satan
A Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Degree of
Master of Liberal Studies
By
Morgan A. Matos
July, 2011
Mentor: Dr. Steve Phelan
Rollins College
Hamilton Holt School
Master of Liberal Studies Program
Winter Park
The Satanic Phenomenon: Medieval
Representations of Satan
Project Approved:
_________________________________________
Mentor
_________________________________________
Seminar Director
_________________________________________
Director, Master of Liberal Studies Program
________________________________________
Dean, Hamilton Holt School
Rollins College
i
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
i
Table of Illustrations
ii
Introduction
1
1.
Historical Development of Satan
4
2.
Liturgical Drama
24
3.
The Corpus Christi Cycle Plays
32
4.
The Morality Play
53
5.
Dante, Marlowe, and Milton: Lasting Satanic Impressions
71
Conclusion
95
Works Consulted
98
ii
Table of Illustrations
1.
Azazel from Collin de Plancy’s Dictionnaire Infernal, 1825
11
2.
Jesus Tempted in the Wilderness, James Tissot, 1886-1894
13
3.
Jesus Carried Up to a Pinnacle of the Temple, James Tissot,
1886-1894
4.
15
Representation of apocalyptic spiritual warfare against Satan
from Hildegard von Bingen’s Scivias, 1151
28
5.
The Fall of Satan from Hildegard von Bingen’s Scivias, 1151
28
6.
Creation and the Fall of the Angels, Medieval Miniatures, 1410
33
7.
Fall of the Angels from The Art of Illumination, 1186
34
8.
Guilio Clovio’s The Fall of Man Illumination from
The Book of Hours, 1546
9.
The N-Town Passion Play stage diagram from Bevington’s
Medieval Drama
10.
37
The Harrowing of Hell. Lincoln Cathedral, 1141-1160
42
47
iii
11.
Mantegna’s Christ's Descent into Limbo.
Frick Museum, 1470-75
12.
Medieval Morality Play illustration from A Dissertation of the
Pageants, 1865
13.
60
Tutivillus “The Patron Demon of Scribes” from Pereira’s
“Titivillus, Demonio, El Gran Aliado De Los Copistas,” 2010
16.
57
Staging for The Castle of Perseverance from Bevington’s
Medieval Drama
15.
56
Everyman Illustration from Richard Pynson’s The Summoning of
Everyman, 1510-1524
14.
49
69
Dante’s Cosmology from Studies in the History and Method of Science
by Charles Singer, 1917
74
17.
Dante’s Circles of Hell from Lapham's Quarterly, 2011
75
18.
Dante’s Satan, Illustration 34 of Divine Comedy:Inferno, 1832-1883
77
19.
Crucifixion and The Last Judgment, Jan van Eyck, 1420-25
82
20.
Depiction of Satan in John Milton's Paradise Lost, 1866
90
Introduction
When one begins to research medieval drama, art, and culture a familiar figure
begins to pop up in multiple places. He can be seen in Hildegard‟s Scivias, a series of
painted tiles that portray apocalyptic scenes, along with other religious art adorning
cathedral walls. His names can be heard in folklore, urban legends, and superstitions
passed down through generations and spread from one town to the next. The medieval
era brings us a character catapulted from the position of a familiar name to complete
phenomenon, stealing scenes, causing mayhem in the streets, and making sin something
to laugh about, while in the same breath making folks fearful for their soul. This project
deals with the one and only character of Satan, revealing him through the eyes of the
medieval world.
The ever-evolving, interconnectedness of culture, religion, and superstition make for
a truly unique theatrical experience in the middle ages. With limited understanding and
access to scripture, medieval Christians generated a blended belief system, in order to
make sense of the metaphysical world, which manifests itself in medieval drama‟s
representations of Satan. While the medieval character of Satan upholds many of the
Church‟s teachings about his nature and purpose, he takes on a new persona when left to
the dramatic interpretation of the laity, as opposed to the interpretation of the monastic
writer, scholar, or prophetic poet. The literary work of Dante and Milton deliver valuable
satanic representations, arguably trumping all others, but something essential is lacking
there, when compared to the Satan found on the medieval stage, who now resides not in
hell, but in the shadow of Dante and Milton‟s Satan.
2
Chapter one explores the origins of Satan and the issue of evil, tracing its rise from
Jewish apocrypha to an integral pillar of the Christian religious tradition. When Satan is
eliminated from the traditional orthodox narrative of creation, original sin, and the
necessity of salvation, the structure is completely altered; but when did this tradition
begin and why is it so crucial to Christianity? Chapter one provides a critical contextual
foundation for a later understanding of Satan in medieval drama. In the early formation
of the church, visible in the writings of the early Church Fathers, a clear distinction is
made separating the notion of Satan as a mythological being and Satan as a metaphysical
force and main adversary of God.
In Chapter One, I also introduce Elaine Pagels‟s idea of Satan as a “surrogate,”
which can be seen throughout the history of Christianity. Basically, anyone outside of
the inner circle of the church would be considered “not of God.” If one is not of God,
then naturally one is of the devil. In the act of placing Satan as a “surrogate” the church
views all qualities and practices associated with the outsider as demonic. I find this
interesting, however, because in later medieval drama Satan takes on behavior and
characterizations that are undeniably human, placing the idea of the Satanic as something
not outside the circle, but right in the center and at the forefront of the medieval mind.
Milton‟s Paradise Lost also contrasts the “surrogate” Satan presented by Pagels, placing
him on a level where readers sympathize with his human qualities.
Chapter two discusses early liturgical drama and the portrayal of Satan preparing for
a later juxtaposition of the characterizations found in plays such as Mankind and
Everyman. I also include the writings of William Durandus, who wrote for a clerical
audience regarding the sacred nature of church art. His instruction on how to interpret
3
religious art shaped the church‟s attitude towards representations of the divine and also
the demonic, possibly creating a residual effect on theatrical audiences for decades to
come. He eloquently expresses the power of art arguing that visual representations of the
gospel are a more effective tool to inform the illiterate laity compared to sermons alone.
In the following two chapters I provide detailed analyses for many popular medieval
plays drawing from the Wakefield, York, and N-Town cycles, paying close attention to
the representations of Satan, his integration into the biblical narrative, and his role in the
delivery of Church doctrine. This discussion will then transition into an analysis on the
morality plays Mankind and Castle of Perseverance. Each play reveals a little more
about the unique medieval perception of Satan, truly setting the medieval characterization
apart from representations preceding (Hildegard) and following it (Milton.)
In chapter five, Dante‟s Inferno takes us on a journey through the underworld into
the fiery pits of Hell where Satan resides. In addition to Dante, we will look at
Christopher Marlowe‟s The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus, which has all the
components of a medieval morality play, but is also revered as a classic piece of
literature, bridging the gap between the medieval and the renaissance period. The
thematic quest for knowledge found in Dr. Faustus can also be seen in John Milton‟s
Paradise Lost, which I will argue has made the most significant contribution to our
present day idea of Satan.
4
Chapter 1
Historical Development of Satan
In order to obtain a fuller understanding of Satan in the medieval world one must
begin at the early stages of Christianity. One can find Satan or devils prior to
Christianity, outside of Judaism as well, but not until the development of a concrete
Christian theology do we see such strong emphasis placed on Satan or the Devil. So
while Christianity developed over time, growing in size and in a specific set of doctrinal
beliefs, so did Satan. As Jeffrey Burton Russell writes, “What history shows is the
concept of the Devil, a coherent historical development growing from pre-biblical roots
through Hebrew and Christian thought into the present” (25). He continues by stating that
although Satan can be seen in Jewish apocryphal texts such as The Book of Enoch,
influencing early Christians, “The concept of the Devil has been much less significant in
Judaism than in Christianity” (26). Eliminating Satan from Christianity, denying his
central role of importance would be contradictory to the teachings of the apostles and to
the overall development of Christianity throughout history. So, ultimately Russell poses
the argument that Satan, unlike God, is in a constant state of flux being shaped and
altered by historical, societal, and cultural changes. This reoccurring theme of a Satan in
flux will be seen throughout my analyses of the medieval dramatic representations of
Satan.
Questions and problems consistently emerge when discussing the issue of evil, the
role and history of Satan, and his relationship with God. A variety of narratives touch on
these elaborate specific issues, but few provide explanations that satisfy more than one
area of concern. Questions such as the following arise: When did Satan fall? Did he fall
5
prior to the creation of Adam and Eve? Did he fall as a result of envy and lust of
mankind? Is Satan merely a fallen angel or is he unique in power and position? Where
does Satan dwell now? Does he have a body? Is Satan male, female, or androgynous?
What is the connection between Satan and the other angels? Do demons have a ranking
system? And if so, is Satan the chief demon? What are his powers? Is he the cause of
human immorality? Is he the cause of natural disasters? Was it he in serpent form that
tempted Adam and Eve? Or did he use a serpent as a tool of sorts to tempt Adam and
Eve? Has God given him the task of punishing sinners? These questions appear to be
endless, demonstrating the vague and foggy terrain leading up to the larger question at
hand: Is Satan real or is he a myth used to teach religious ideas?
In an interview Dr. John Dominic Crossan has referenced Old Testament accounts of
Satan to argue his opposition that Satan is not a critical or even literal character in
Judaism. Using the scriptural reference from the book of Job which we will view shortly,
he ascribes more of an “inspector general” character to Satan with negative connotations
similar to that of a tax collector. Along these lines, Satan, as a messenger, reported things
back to God. A shift occurs when Satan no longer reports, but takes on the role of
tempter emphasized in the New Testament.
Additionally, Dr. Crossan finds a great illustration in Genesis 4:1-8 within the story
of Cain and Abel. The New International Version is preferred for this particular passage
for its use of the word “crouching,” personifying a hungry animal ready to attack:
1
2
3
Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth
to Cain. She said, “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man.”
Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain
worked the soil.
In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an
offering to the LORD.
6
4
5
6
7
8
And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn
of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very
angry, and his face was downcast.
Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face
downcast?
If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what
is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must
rule over it.”
Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let‟s go out to the field.” While they
were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. (New
International Version, 4.1-8)
Using Dr. Crossan‟s idea of a shift over time from messenger to tempter, we can see
how this scripture could be used to substitute the sin lurking at the door with a
personified Satan lurking at the door, which brings up the argument of whether Cain was
merely tempted to do evil or possessed by evil, Satan. This idea of the human will and
our ability to do good things as well as bad will resurface when we look at the Jewish
excerpt regarding “yester.”
Scholars are in agreement with Dr. Crossan regarding the overall understanding of
the Old Testament Satan and other evil spirits such Azazel (figure 1). The Israelites
feared these types of spirits and often referred to them as entities living in far off areas
away from their habitations. According to William Caldwell:
The word Satan is often used in the Old Testament as a verb, meaning to act
as an adversary. Satan as a noun means a human adversary as in I Sam…or a
superhuman adversary as in Num. 22:22. Satan as a proper name occurs in
not more than three passages in the Old Testament, and they are all late and
probably not independent of each other. (32)
At this juncture the serpent in Genesis might appear to be the first stop, but actually
there is no Old Testament mention of Satan in connection with the serpent found in the
7
Garden of Eden, which we will discuss at great length in later chapters. The first two
passages referencing Satan can be found in Job: “Now there was a day when the sons of
God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them…
Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord,
and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord” (NKJ, Job 1.6; 2.1).
In addition to the verses found in Job one can also see the term Satan in Zechariah. The
following passage illustrates the use of the word Satan in place of adversary and is
regarded as nothing more than a name used for the accusers speaking against God‟s
people or “adversaries of Judah” as mentioned in Ezra 4:4. The people of the land,
referred to as the Satan, complained to God that Joshua was not fit to be the new Jewish
high priest because he lacked the proper clothing. The scripture continues, “Then he
showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan
standing at his right side to accuse him. The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you,
Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick
snatched from the fire?” (Zech 3.1-2).
The last scripture of reference, the only one containing what is strictly considered a
proper name, is found in I Chronicles, “And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked
David to number Israel.” (21.1) In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew
bible, this verse‟s proper title “Satan” would be translated as diabolos. (Caldwell 32) It is
important to make the distinction between the I Chronicles‟ “Satan” and the others; its
translation into diabolos is the only Old Testament instance of the New Testament
“Satan” which is also translated as diabolos. “God is benevolent,” Russell comments on
this passage, “but another spiritual power exists that opposed evil to the Lord‟s goodness
8
and darkness to his light. The spirit is in the New Testament Greek diabolos,
“adversary,” a translation of the Hebrew Satan, “obstructor,” and the origin of the
English word devil (27).
With limited Old Testament references to Satan it becomes clear that his origins
must have derived from alternative sources. Present day Christians would most likely
deny this claim, arguing that every reference is biblically derived, but the creation
account and fall of Satan often recited sounds peculiarly familiar to readers of Milton‟s
Paradise Lost, which narrates a dramatic supernatural battle between Satan and God
ending in his expulsion from heaven, the establishment of hell, and the temptation of
man. Early Christians and Church Fathers such as Justin Martyr cite creation and fall
accounts closely paralleling Jewish apocryphal texts such as The Book of Enoch. In
reference to a Judaic understanding of evil and the influence on Christian theology
regarding Satan Russell writes:
According to Rabbinic teaching, two antagonistic spirits inhabit each
individual: one a tendency to good (yester-ba-toh), the other a tendency to
evil (yester ba-ra). The rabbis ordinarily argued that the Lord had created
both tendencies but gave humanity the Torah so that we might overcome the
evil yester by following the law. The Devil was perceived as personifying
the yester: Rabbi Simon ben Lakish wrote that “Satan and the yester and the
angel of death are one.” The rabbis discarded the tradition of the rebellion of
the angels, since the angels have no evil yester and cannot sin, and they did
not identify Satan with the serpent of Genesis or foretell his destruction and
punishment. Some of the old traditions [like Enoch] persisted in the aggadah
(moral stories, legends, maxims, and sermons) where the Devil, known as
Sammael more often than as Satan, is a high angel that falls, uses the serpent
to tempt Adam and Eve, and acts as tempter, accuser, destroyer, and the angel
of death. Many Christian demon tales have their origins in the aggadah. (28)
The Book of Enoch is a Jewish apocryphal text not included in Christian theology by
Church Fathers. It is comparable, therefore, to the Gnostic scriptures. The exact reason
for the exclusion of this text is debatable, but I would argue that the exclusion primarily
9
rests in the fact that this account contradicts the explanation of evil and the origin of
Satan needed to promote the Church‟s doctrine of salvation. Historians and scholars
alike say that these scriptures were penned sometime in the second century before Christ.
They have found an overlap of history and mythology in the text, and its presence in the
discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran proves that it definitely predates the life of
Jesus. So, in other words The Book of Enoch is really old and provides an interesting
narrative involving Satan and the fall of the angels. The following summary of Enoch’s
fall of Satan and the events thereafter provide a great example of the variety of satanic
narratives and legends residually affecting Christianity and fueling the disunity of early
Christian theology, which would later be subject to reform at the hands of the Church
Fathers.
According to the scriptures found in Enoch the wayward angels were not necessarily
cast out of heaven, but instead exercising their free will, fell to the earth after growing
envious of human sexuality, longing to take wives with earthly women and procreate.
Enoch refers to angels as the “Watchers,” the Aramaic translation of angels. This
narrative of the fallen angels or Watchers takes some very interesting turns, delivering a
radically different interpretation of what transpired in the spiritual and earthly realm
involving Satan and other fallen angels.
Here we see several dark angels led by Satan who in Enoch is referred to as
Samyaza. In chapter six we read that the earth has become abundant with children,
specifically beautiful daughters. Lusting after the earthly women, Samyaza devises a
plan and presents it to the other angels who are under his authority, “Come, let us choose
wives from among the children of men and beget us children” (Enoch 6.2). He continues
10
by admitting that these actions will not sit well with God and that he is prepared to accept
the ultimate penalty of this great sin. After making a pact with two hundred other angels
to fall from heaven and execute Samyaza‟s plan, they descend and proceed. Their evil
deeds on the earth breed utter chaos.
The women impregnated give birth to giants. These evil giants grow to become the
leaders of wicked groups such as the Philistines and other persecutors of God‟s people.
The offspring of the fallen angels have unusual appetites and their inhumane, brutal
actions grieve the archangels remaining in heaven. According to Enoch the Watchers
instructed humans in demonic practices such as charms, enchantments, and sorcery. The
dark leader named Azazel (see figure 1) instilled among mankind “every species of
iniquity,” including the means for making swords, knives, shields, breastplates…all the
instruments of war (Enoch 8.1-9).
In chapter nine of Enoch, after witnessing the destruction and the unnatural practices
that the fallen angels have brought to the earth, archangels Gabriel, Michael, Raphael,
Suryal, and Uriel plead with God the Most High to intervene. God gives eacharchangel
specific instructions to defeat the leaders of this dark force known as the Watchers, and
then completes this wiping out of evil with the flood. But, even after the flood which was
sent to destroy the offspring of the fallen angels and destroy the race of giants, they
returned once again to pervert mankind.
The Book of Enoch promotes the Watcher theory which appears in a variety of
versions throughout history. It creates the division between the people of God and
everyone else, labeling outsiders, or anyone who persecutes God‟s people as evil and
basically a derivative of Satan. This idea is captured in the idea of Satan as a surrogate, a
11
representative of anything or anyone deemed outside of the Judeo-Christian circle, and
occasionally even those in the circle.
Figure 1. Plancy, Collin De. Azazel. 1825. Paris. New World Encyclopedia.
A depiction of Azazel in his familiar form of a goat-like demon.
In The Origin of Satan Elaine Pagels repeatedly returns to Enoch and other Jewish
texts positioning it as catalyst for the character of Satan that will emerge and rise to the
forefront in Christendom. She also raises an extremely relevant point regarding the
nature of Satan in these stories that tell of his origin. Although there are many different
Judeo-Christian Satan stories that at first glance appear to have nothing in common, they
all agree on one thing: “this greatest and most dangerous enemy did not originate, as one
might expect, as an outsider, an alien, or stranger. Satan is not the distant enemy but the
intimate enemy” (Pagels 49). The intimate enemy also reflects the rabbinic teachings of
the yester-ba-ra, the tendency towards evil that every human possesses within himself.
12
Whichever origin of Satan you choose, and you have many to choose from, you will find
him depicted as an intimate enemy, “the attribute that qualifies him so well to express
conflict among Jewish groups” (Pagels 49).
Similar to Russell‟s concept of a Satan in flux, adapting to a particular culture, place,
and time, Pagels identifies Satan as a representative of the socio-political tension found
between Jews and those who became Jewish Christians.
Those who asked, “How could God‟s own angel become his enemy?” were thus
asking, in effect, “How could one of us become one of them?” Stories of Satan
and other fallen angels proliferated in these troubled times, especially within
those radical groups that had turned against the rest of the Jewish community
and, consequently, concluded that others had turned against them-or (as they put
it) against God. (49)
The New Testament certainly introduces a new, improved, and more intimate Satan
than the Old Testament. In the New Testament we find the “Devil,” the most common
synonym for Satan used 30 times. Other New Testament references to Satan include:
“Beelzebub” who has an implied connection to Satan (Luke 11:18-19), “The Wicked
One” (Matthew 13:19), “Prince of this World” (John 12:31), “The Dragon” (Revelation
20:2) “The Ancient Serpent” (Revelation 20:2), “god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4)
“The Prince of the Power of the Air” (Ephesians 2:2), “The Tempter” (Matthew 4:3),
“Liar” (John 8:4), “Belial” (2 Corinthians 6:15), “your adversary” (1 Peter 5:8). 1 Peter
5:8 reads, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a
roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” This verse effectively captures the New
Testament characterization of Satan, where he works vigorously against God by preying
on humanity.
The temptations of Christ contain the most relevant New Testament account of Satan
in conversation with Jesus. All three synoptic gospels contain the temptations of Christ.
13
Modern gospel scholarship has generally postulated a text referred to as the Q Source that
was used in the writing of both the Gospel of Matthew and Luke. Scholars have claimed
that the book of Mark and the Q Source were both references in the writing of Matthew
and Luke, because the texts present overlapping material. The ancient Q Source
supposedly contains long quotations from Jesus which were included in Matthew and
Luke, but not in Mark.
According to the gospels, after being baptized Jesus went to the Judean desert to fast
for forty days and forty nights. In the midst of fasting Satan appears to Jesus and begins
to tempt him. After refusing three temptations, the devil and his demons flee. Angels
swiftly enter the scene to minister to Jesus. Nineteenth-century painter, James Tissot,
offers exquisite artistic representations of the First and Second temptations of Christ (see
figure 2 and 3) outlined in Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13.
Figure 2. Tissot, James Joseph Jacques. Jesus Tempted in the Wilderness. 1886-1894. Brooklyn
Museum.
14
Matthew 4:1-11 reads:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the
devil.
And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was
hungry.
Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God,
command that these stones become bread.”
But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”
Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of
the temple [Figure 4],
and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it
is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and ‘In their hands
they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your
God.’”
Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed
Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down
and worship me.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall
worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”
Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
The New Testament accounts of Satan are critical to Christian doctrine. Justin
Martyr, considered the first apologetic father, was enormously influential on early
Christianity. Born in Samaria around 100 A.D., he found Greek philosophy and every
area of secular thought insufficient on his quest for truth. Justin converted to Christianity,
writing the “First Apology” between 152 and 154. The “First Apology” and the “Second
Apology” defended Christianity, criticizing Greek and Jewish thought. In the “Second
Apology” he writes in response to the unjust killing of Christians at the hands of pagans.
After writing his third work “Dialogue with Trypho the Jew,” Justin was martyred by the
Romans between 163 and 167.
15
Figure 3. Tissot, James Joseph Jacques. Jesus Carried Up to a Pinnacle of the Temple. 18861894. Brooklyn Museum.
Justin Martyr believed strongly in the presence of a demonic force and the idea of
Christ and His people engaged in a cosmic battle between God and Satan. According to
Russell, Justin was unclear on the exact nature of the sin of the fallen angels, but “leaned
strongly to the theory of the lustful Watchers” (66). In addition to these open questions,
16
Justin remained uncertain as to whether the other angels sinned on their own accord or if
Satan had induced the sin. Russell summarizes Justinian diabology:
Though he failed to account coherently for the Devil‟s origin, nature, or sin,
Justin confirmed that Satan is the tempter of Jesus, the serpent, and the prince of
demons. Christ‟s power is pitted against that of the Devil, and for Justin a
primary function of Christ‟s work is the destruction of that power. The Devil
held full power in the world for a time, but Christ has broken that power through
his Incarnation and Passion” (67).
Many influential Church Fathers followed Justin Martyr making significant
contributions towards Satan promotion in Christianity. Tertullian argued that Christ‟s
main objective was to conquer Satan through the Passion influencing other Church
Fathers such as Minucious Felix and Cyprian. Clement of Alexandria surpassed many of
his predecessors with his ontological explanation of evil. Clement integrated the
narrative of Christ‟s dissension into Hell after the crucifixion. This addition became
widely accepted and sparked new questions and controversies. By the third century
theology and legend mixed to created several different versions of this event personifying
both death and hell. Gnosticism also influenced and provoked many of these early
Christian writers such as Origen. The Gnostic rejection of the material world and
metaphorical interpretation of scripture also generated challenges in the explanation of
Satan‟s existence and the nature of evil.
The next few centuries proved to be a very crucial time in the early years of the
Church. The ideas presented by the early Apologetic writers evolved rapidly into
complex versions of theology and folklore catapulting Satan from mythical mystery to
literal being becoming the center of Christianity‟s purpose. St. Augustine references the
“Devil” well over “2,300 times, and many more if cognates and synonyms are included”
17
(Fitzgerald 268). Mention of the devil is found throughout much of his work, but
primarily in his Sermones and Enarrationes in Psalmos, the anti-Manichaen works, and
the anti-Pelegian works. St. Augustine‟s theology regarding Satan set the precedent for
Christianity becoming the most influential work leading us into the middle ages.
According to St. Augustine, Satan was a good and happy angel who had
foreknowledge of his future. Satan was the first sinner, but did not fall because he was
ontologically evil, but by his own free will. St. Augustine references all the scriptural
accounts of Satan using most of the names mentioned earlier. He recognizes Satan as the
tempter of Job and also as being symbolized by the serpent in the Garden of Eden. The
serpent was not wise on his own, but instead by the power possessed by the devil. St.
Augustine confirms that Satan introduced the first sin to man by persuading Adam and
Eve. Eve was seduced into sin which resulted in all of humanity being “betrayed into the
power of the devil” (Fitzgerald 269):
The Devil also has the power of death over humankind because of his powers of
persuasion. Christ overcame the devil by justice, not by power. Death entered
into the world by mean of the devil, in the sense that human sin imitates diabolic
sin. Augustine carefully distinguishes between the sin of Adam which is passed
on to us by inheritance and the sin of the devil which human imitate. (269)
Centuries after the influential writings of St. Augustine, another intellectual
theologian emerged making significant contributions to Catholic theology. St. Thomas
Aquinas, a thirteenth-century Dominican friar, wrote the Summa Theologica paying
homage to Aristotelian thought while responding to many theological issues such as the
nature of Jesus Christ as well as the nature of evil. For the purposes of our study let us
examine his ideas on the sin and the state of the fallen angels, specifically Satan.
The following excerpt is taken directly from A Tour of the Summa:
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Lucifer who became Satan, leader of the fallen angels, wished to be as God.
This prideful desire was not a wish to be equal to God, for Satan knew by his
natural knowledge that equality of creature with creator is utterly impossible.
Besides, no creature actually desires to destroy itself, even to become something
greater. On this point man sometimes deceives himself by a trick of
imagination; he imagines himself to be another and greater being, and yet it is
himself that is somehow this other being. But an angel has no sense-faculty of
imagination to abuse in this fashion. The angelic intellect, with clear
knowledge, makes such self-deception impossible. Lucifer knew that to be
equal with God, he would have to be God, and he knew perfectly that this could
not be. What he wanted was to be as God; he wished to be to be like God in a
way that suited to his nature, such as to create things by his own power, or to
achieve final beatitude without God‟s help, or to have command over others in a
way proper to God alone. (Glenn 54-55)
Centuries prior to Aquinas in the early middle ages a cultural shift began to take
place in Western Europe. Literacy grew and scholasticism dominated in monasteries,
cathedral schools, and universities. Prior to this shift Christian thought was based on
tradition and scripture alone, but after the advent of scholasticism justification through
reason was deemed as necessary. This dialectic methodology can be seen in Aquinas‟s
theological work which directly influenced medieval theology. Aquinas‟s dialectic poses
a question and drawing upon scripture, tradition, and logic summarizes a resolution to the
question. Modern philosophers would also draw upon the work of St. Thomas Aquinas
centuries later.
A separation must be made between medieval monasticism, the Roman Catholic
Church (both church and state), and the laity in what history shows as a turbulent time.
Art work, architecture, and writings provide a window into the medieval religious
culture, but the laity often remains a mystery for most men and women were completely
illiterate. Medieval drama transcends many of the other art forms as a method of
understanding the culture, for many of the plays (especially later cycle plays) directly
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correlate with the laity and reveal a great deal about their interpretation of the Bible, view
of Satan, and the issue of evil.
Christian prayers such as The Apostles‟ Creed, The Hail Mary, and The Our Father
are important to examine for they set up the fundamentals of Christianity, instilling a fear
of God and a reverence for the sacred figures of Catholicism. In plays such as
Wakefield‟s Creation and Fall of the Angels the character of God is not involved in the
dramatic action of the play. God speaks in such a manner that it cannot be seen as
dialogue, but more as a proclamation of his sovereignty and omnipotence. The
categorizations made in these prayers concerning what is sacred and holy would have
repetitiously been spoken by all; but unless the prayers were accompanied with
instruction and a translation by a pastor, common folks would not have understood what
they were actually saying as it was often passed down in the father tongue (i.e. latin).
Assuming that people grasped the basic tenets of these prayers (One God, the deity of
Christ, the sacredness of Mary the mother of Jesus, and the Saints…) they would have
been spoken continuously, becoming an act of repetition and superstition rather than one
of heart-felt prayer. Prayers such as The Our Father became such a common practice that
it was often referred to as a measure for time, “let it sit for five „Our Fathers‟.” Also the
word patter is used to describe the sound made by someone mechanically reciting the
prayer.
In addition to the basic prayers and instruction on what exactly to believe, lessons on
symbolism and church art might have also trickled down to the laity as well. William
Durandus wrote for a clerical audience regarding the sacred nature of church art,
however, this might have been passed down in its simplest form to church-goers. The
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writings provide a deep, eloquent explanation, but laity might have received something
along these lines: “Don‟t worship these paintings, recognize and worship whom they
represent.” He knew that church art, anything visual, was a far more effective medium,
as opposed to preaching and verbal instruction alone. Seeing a painting of a crucified
Jesus would have a lasting effect compared to hearing the New Testament depiction of
the crucifixion read aloud. Obviously, drama takes this concept even one step further
giving not only a visual experience, but literally making the Bible story come to life right
in front of their very eyes.
In addition to doctrinal basics that Catholics would have learned in church, if they
went to church and if their church offered regular services, many superstitions and nonbiblical theories circulated through sermons and folklore. The Christian idea of Satan in
the middle ages would have been influenced mostly by folklore deriving from
Mediterranean cultures as well as Celtic and Teutonic religions in northern regions.
Pagan religions would have also influenced Christianity, just as Christianity would also
influence different pagan practices. According to Russell in Lucifer: The Devil in the
Middle Ages:
Folklore shades into popular religion, but the latter is more self-conscious,
deliberate, and coherent. Popular religion consists of the beliefs and practices of
people of simple or no education, and it appears most clearly in homiletic
literature, the sermons, exempla (or formulas for sermons) of such writers as
Gregory the Great, Aelfric, and Caesarius of Heisterbach. Popular Christianity
tended to present a vivid, frightening Devil…Folklore on the other hand tended
to make the devil ridiculous or impotent, probably in order to tame him or
relieve the tension of fear…Because of the contradictory nature of these
traditions, popular opinion about the Devil oscillated between seeing him as a
terrible lord and seeing him as a fool. (Lucifer 63)
21
As seen in Enoch, which refers to Satan as Samyaza, and throughout the New
Testament and Early Christian writings, Satan is called by many names. Medieval plays
often present a definite Satan character, but he is referred to as someone else or an
extension of Satan. Russell observes, “Folklore also sometimes split the Devil himself
into one or more personalities. From the time of apocalyptic literature the Devil had
many names, such as Satan, Belial, and Beelzebub, and the apocalyptic stories sometimes
made them independent characters” (Lucifer 66). This dramatic device is sometimes
used in medieval literature as well. Many of the popular nicknames given to Satan by the
superstitious medieval laity are quite humorous. The names were often inserted into daily
conversational phrases making them even funnier. These nicknames usher in the
humorous connotation that eventually becomes associated with Satan in the medieval
world:
He is Old Horny, Old Hairy, Black Bogey, Lusty Dick, Dickon or Dickens,
Gentleman Jack, the Good Fellow, Old Nick, and Old Scrath, with comparable
sobriquets in French, German, and other languages. Such names shade off into
those of minor demons, themselves identified with the sprites or “little people” of
paganism. Hundreds of such names exist…Such nicknames were popular not
only because of their association with the “little people” but also because to give
the Devil an absurd name is to offer an antidote to the fear he engendered.
(Lucifer 67)
Satan may have a long list of titles and nicknames, but the variations of his
appearance are even greater than that of his names. His frequent depiction in animal
form comes from the Judeo-Christian tradition, but also derives from pagan practices. Of
all his animal portrayals, he is most frequently personified by a serpent, goat, or dog. He
often takes human form as well. “His proper form,” Russell says, “is invisible or
amorphous, but he can shift his shape to suit his purpose” (Lucifer 68). Sometimes his
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appearance is like that of a monster, deformed and disgusting, and his skin is usually
black “in conformity with Christian tradition and almost worldwide symbolism” (Lucifer
68). Red skin would be the second most common hue for Satan, symbolically
representing blood and fire.
Throughout history, beginning in ancient Judaism and catapulting into Christianity,
Satan grew in stature and importance so rapidly that by the Middle Ages he had
generated his very own phenomenon. In this opening chapter the idea of Satan has been
presented as a concept representing a certain time and place, thus remaining in a constant
state of flux. After examination of Old Testament scriptures and Jewish apocryphal texts
I have concluded that many Christian Satan narratives have definite ties to older Jewish
sources. I have also introduced the idea of Satan as a surrogate who represents those that
are outside of the inner circle of Christianity, expanding on the description of Satan by
Pagels as the “intimate enemy.” I have also included the transition from Satan‟s bleak
presence in the Old Testament to his dramatic appearances and crucial importance in the
New Testament.
The purpose of this chapter is to transport the reader into the Middle Ages with
enough context and historical background to identify Satan‟s drastic evolution from
diminutive character to ultimate enemy of God and humanity. In addition to this, I
wanted to identify the outside influences that were instrumental in the development of
Christian thought towards Satan, which never really exits the scene. In the medieval
world we find a blended belief system among the laity, composed of folklore, mythology,
superstition, and Christian tradition. In our discussion of the Church‟s implementation of
doctrine and the formulation of medieval popular religion, a unique version of Satan
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emerges which is the primary focus of this project. This Satan, which is exclusively
medieval, is portrayed as the fool. So, as we end this first chapter we can already see a
polarized view of Satan forming in the medieval world. This theme will be a constant
throughout our discussion on the Satanic Phenonmenon.
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Chapter 2
Liturgical Drama
The first liturgical dramatic presentations did not feature the character of Satan, but
are important to mention for they illustrate the progression of plays from celebratory in
nature to dramatic, from divine proclamation to the representation of a cosmic conflict.
Satan‟s appearance in medieval art precedes his stage entrance, as we will see in
Hildegard von Bingen‟s art and manuscripts titled Scivias followed by her dramatic opera
Ordo Virtutum, where we will begin our primary discussion on the representation of
Satan in early liturgical drama for comparison to later medieval drama.
In E.K. Chambers‟s The Medieval Stage, which was published over a hundred years
ago, the history of drama starts “with the decay of the ancient world and its dramatic
traditions. He blamed the disappearance of the classical dramatic tradition on
Christianity and barbarism” (Reynolds 128). He began his historical analysis in the
liturgical beginnings illustrating the “slow evolution” (Reynolds 128) of drama from the
simple dramatic dialogue of the Quem Quaritis to the complex drama of the Corpus
Christi cycle plays. Roger E. Reynolds does an incredible job surveying the history of
dramatic liturgical processions. In the following excerpt he critiques Chambers‟ argument
that liturgical drama was a suppressed form of drama that only broke loose once the
“pagan instincts triumphed”:
Notably in his construction of the evolution of medieval drama was Chambers‟s
hostility to Christianity and religion in general. The clergy is consistently cast in
the role of the villain who opposed the “mimetic” instinct of human beings.
Christianity attacked the theatre, but thanks to the secular minstrels who braved
the wrath of the Church, the mimetic instinct lived on. Chambers conceded that
there was such a thing as liturgical drama, but he argued that the bonds of
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ecclesiastical control in this drama were eventually broken and pagan instincts
triumphed in the „spectacula of mirth, wonder, and delight‟. In these spectacula
Chambers emphasized especially the popularity and elaboration of scenes
featuring devils, comic scenes, and the like. Purely religious Christian scenes had
no part in true drama. (129)
According to Karl Young, a play is any story that involves action. A play must also
include that act of impersonation. Therefore, Young would argue that Mass cannot be
considered dramatic for it does not include this. In contrast to Chambers, Young argued
that liturgical drama was not just an early form of medieval drama, but a form of drama
in its own right. O.B. Hardison continues the trend of opposition by criticizing Young,
arguing that he “ignored in his work the aesthetic of drama. Why, asks Hardison, was
drama so popular in the Middle Ages? Nor did Young place drama in its historical
context and speak to the fact that medieval authors did think of Mass as drama with
actors and the like” (Reynolds 130). Hardison also disagreed with Young‟s view that
dialogue was an essential criterion for something to be considered drama. Hardison
brings up a very valid point here when one considers monologues and other non-dialogue
stage action that might take place. So as evidence shows, scholars have not always
agreed on the details surrounding liturgical drama, but my research has confirmed that
most scholars point to the Quem Quaritis as one of the earliest Easter plays.
No doubt the development of the liturgy into something dramatic was a slow one. It
would be foolish to believe that something shifted over night and drama exploded onto
the scene, or altar in this case. Similar to most things that develop over history, medieval
drama was a process, and a slow one at that. Early Easter and Christmas plays began as
very short exchanges of dialogue. The following line is the angel‟s opening question to
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the three Mary‟s as they approach the open tomb of Jesus, “Quem quaeritis in
sepulchro?” (Whom do you seek in the sepulchre?”). The shortened form of this Latin
phrase would become the title of this dramatic ceremony of the three Mary‟s entering the
tomb of Jesus. In his introduction to the text David M. Bevington writes, “This episode,
representing the extremely important moment in which mankind learns of Christ‟s
resurrection, appears in a number of texts owned by various religious communities in
tenth-century Europe. All are quite short and involve a dialogue between an angel
(sometimes two angels) and the three Mary‟s” (21).
The early tropes involving the three Mary‟s, often called Visitatio, expanded slowly
into more elaborate plays. Eventually additional scenes were added and detailed
costumes and props became a necessity. These plays expanded because they were
centered on an event where dramatic action could be built upon. Visiting the empty tomb
of Jesus, receiving the message from the Angel, the nativity scene, and the birth of Jesus
are all events where action and celebratory praise could be embellished and understood
by all. The idea of expanding upon an event would act as catalyst for the later liturgical
dramas involving the lives of the Saints. After the development of the Quem Quaeritis,
and as it became a regular and anticipated segment of the liturgy, cycles of play would be
presented covering the history of creation to the last judgment. Passion plays, Easter
plays, and Miracle Plays (based on the Saints) would flourish inside of churches
throughout Europe, specifically in England, where I predominantly focus my attention
with the exception of the German Benedictine Abbess Hildegard von Bingen, who
founded monasteries in Rupertsberg and Eibingen in 1150 and 1161. This extraordinary
woman deserves our attention; for her apocalyptic artwork, manuscripts, and dramatic
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plays provide an early representation of Satan, significantly predating the widespread
popularity of the Saint or Miracle play.
In the early twelfth-century Hildegard von Bingen interpreted her ecstatic spiritual
encounters into a three volume book titled Scito vias Domini (Know the ways of the
Lord), often referred to as Scivias. To accompany her detailed written interpretations
which mostly portray Christ conquering evil, apocalyptic visions of hell, and the
Antichrist, she painted, or directed someone else to paint the Scivias miniatures (see
figure 4 and 5). According to Richard Emmerson, “Scivias is the source of one of the
most startling images of Antichrist [also interpreted as Satan] in medieval art…an
apocalyptic nightmare” (2).
Personifying the narrative found in the third volume of Scivias, Hildegard wrote and
composed the Ordo Virtutum (Order of Virtues), one of the earliest liturgical morality
plays. This morality play, Theresa B. Maguire writes, “in true Medieval style personifies
vice and virtue at war, with virtue always the victor and master over sin” (5). Bruce
William Hozeski, a Hildegard scholar, writes: “In Scene One, he [Satan] addresses the
Soul and tries to convince her that if she embraces the world she will receive great honor.
He then tries to tempt the Soul, and all the virtues in general [which have been divided
into different choruses] with a temptation similar to the one he tempted Christ with on the
top of the mountain” (Hozeski 104). A dramatic battle continues until the Virtues come to
the Soul‟s rescue and Satan is defeated.
The Ordo is an absolutely beautiful, lyrical dramatic opera that captures the essence
of dedication and intimacy with God. Hildegard wrote Scivias with the intention of
28
Figure 4. Hildegard von Bingen. Scivias. Rupertsberg,
1151.
Representation of apocalyptic spiritual warfare against
Satan., the Soul‟s battle against evil.
Figure 5. Hildegard von Bingen. Scivias.
Rupertsberg, 1151.
Allegorical representation of Satan‟s fall
and the subsequent fall of humanity.
educating the ignorant clergy she found herself surrounded by. Her deep series of
writings instruct all in the ways of the Lord, focusing on Satan, who crouches like a lion,
ready to steal the Soul away from the Virtues of God. The twenty one virtues found in
the Ordo are divided into three different choruses, in addition to a chorus for the
patriarchs and prophets. Throughout the three different scenes we see the character of
humanity personified through “Soul” interact with the Virtues, all words being sung
beautifully, but Satan who tries to lead Soul astray does not sing. He is restricted solely to
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speaking the text. Maguire elaborates, “since music, according to Hildegard‟s vision was
the language of Heaven, the devil was not permitted to sing” (5). Maguire continues, “the
heart of a person is tuned to music. When music no longer affected the soul, it portended
the presence of evil” (5). As we look deeper into Hildegard‟s representation of Satan, her
deep understanding of scripture and spirituality can be seen, creating a very different
theatrical experience than what we will encounter later in the medieval cycle plays and
morality plays.
Similarities can be found between the Ordo and other early liturgical dramas such as
the Quem Quaeritis, but the Ordo stands out for its inclusion of Satan. Satan not only
appears, but has a distinct entrance and is portrayed in such a manner as to personify
Hildegard‟s paintings. He is described as being costumed in a leather ensemble in order
to portray “a reddish brown leathery skinned beast which is similar to a dragon” (Hozeski
104). The devil speaks once in Scene One of the Ordo, twice in Scene Two, and does not
speak in the final scene. In the first scene he has the following lines which closely
emulate Christ‟s temptation on the mountain: “Whoever wishes to follow me and my
will, I will give him all things. Thou, indeed, hast nothing among thy possessions, which
though canst give, because none of you know what ye are” (Hozeski 104). In Scene Two
he chastises the Soul and the Virtues for their belief in God and questions God‟s
existence, threatening them with physical violence if they do not follow him. Physical
violence will surface time and time again in many of the morality plays with Dante‟s hell
portraying the most vivid and disturbing scenario of demonic violence. The Virtues come
to the Soul‟s rescue and proceed to bind Satan proclaiming and rejoicing “because the
Devil has been trampled under foot by the coming of Christ” (Hozeski 105). Satan‟s final
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scornful remark in the drama is as follows: “Thou knowest not what thou bringest forth,
because thy womb is empty of any fair form taken from man, wherein thou transgressest
the command of pleasant intercourse which God commanded; wherefore thou knowest
not what thou art” (Hozeski 105). This remark directed towards the Virtue of Chastity and
the Soul is something that we will also see again in representations of Satan. He is
reminding the Virtues and the Soul of the pleasures of human existence, and that chastity
and virtuosity are ridiculous, unachievable things to strive for.
Hildegard‟s Satan is manipulative, he strives to create confusion and disbelief, and in
order to match the tone of the play in its entirety he is serious and very dramatic.
Medieval representations of Satan differ quite a bit from that found in the Ordo; however,
certain themes emerge in this early drama that will continue throughout much of
medieval drama. The most prominent theme that we will see consistently throughout this
work is the tension between good and evil, virtue and vice, and ultimately God and Satan.
With that being said, we find humanity in the middle, arms stretched out, being tugged
from one side to the other. Another reoccurring theme that will be seen is the use of
allegory in story and character. In Mankind the characters are an embodiment of different
virtues and vices and humanity is represented by one character, Soul. As we move to
other medieval plays that portray Satan, let us not forget Hildegard‟s Ordo Virtutum.
Written for an audience of nuns who had vowed a life celibacy and contemplation, this
play‟s structure and thematic qualities help us to understand medieval drama better in the
centuries to come.
The Ordo demonstrates the great dramatic effect takes place in staging the battle
between good and evil, but the dramatist‟s intent would not be recognized without a basic
31
understanding of Christianity. The duality of humanity (one‟s soul in opposition to one‟s
flesh) opens the door for Satan to enter with temptation. Our soul may desire the things
of God, but our flesh is weak and our desires can succumb to the temptations of the
enemy leading us away from God, a central theme in Pauline theology. In order to
understand this constant struggle, which seems to be the theme throughout much of
medieval religious drama, one must go back to the very beginning of the Bible in order to
learn the foundations of Catholicism, becoming familiar with concepts such as original
sin and redemption only through the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ. These basic
doctrinal teachings would be delivered to the laity through a variety of media, drama
being the most prevalent. As we will see in chapter three, the Wakefield Cycle plays
served as a wonderful guide through the bible in it entirety, building a theological
foundation for the laity, introducing Satan and sending him to his rightful place in the
fiery pits of hell.
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Chapter 3
The Corpus Christi Cycle Plays
The exact transition (if there is one) from Latin liturgical drama held in church
services to cycle plays, such as those found in Wakefield and Chester, cannot clearly be
identified, but eventually in the evolution of medieval drama plays began to be performed
in town squares aside from the liturgy. Controversy continues in the discussion of
liturgical drama and the emergence of the Corpus Christi cycles. Many scholars disagree
with the previous notion of liturgical drama growing into something so large that it could
no longer be contained inside of the church walls. They argue instead that each type of
drama should be seen as its own entity, cyclical in nature, keeping in mind that while a
new form may have begun, the older still continued to exist and effectively produce new
material. The cycle plays would begin with Genesis and proceed all the way through
Revelations, giving medieval audiences a heavy dose of Biblical teachings mostly
didactic in nature, but also entertaining. They had to be somewhat entertaining for people
to continue to attend and for its popularity to become so widespread. If the cycle plays
were going to dramatize the entire Bible from beginning to end, it is no surprise that
Satan would be making quite a few appearances.
The Corpus Christi cycles were performed in England from about 1378 until the
second half of the sixteenth-century. The Wakefield cycle in Yorkshire would employ up
to 243 actors to perform the procession of plays on pageant wagons. Let us begin with
The Creation and the Fall of the Angels from the Wakefield Cycle. The Bible actually
says very little about the fall of Satan, as we discussed in chapter one, giving us few
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scriptures to draw reference from. As mentioned before, one scripture medieval scholars
tend to use as a reference can be found in Isaiah 14:12: “How art thou fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!” An explanation for evil had to be constructed and
through this narrative of Satan’s fall from heaven it was. In this dramatized version of
the creation and Satan’s fall we see God in all of his glory (see figure 6 and 7). It is
important to note that God is not portrayed as a dramatic character involved in dialogue
on the same level as the others. We will return to this idea of portraying God and explore
why it becomes problematic in a moment.
Figure 6 Creation and the Fall of the Angels. Medieval Miniatures, Historiated Bible of Guiard
des Moulins. Department of Manuscripts, Royal Library of Belgium 1410.
After the creation of all things God exits the stage leaving his throne empty. Lucifer
begins a lengthy monologue describing himself as “fare and bright” and declares himself
34
worthy of lordship. He receives confirmation from other angels that because of his
beauty he should have the right to sit on God’s throne. He says, “My sete shall be theras
was His” and “I trow me seme as well as His,” which Bevington translates as “I believe it
suits me” (262). Here we see the audacity of Lucifer in its purest form, the audacity to sit
on the throne of God. This would most likely have shocked audience members. He not
only sits on God’s throne, but also attempts to mimic God in voice and action. This first
act of mimesis leads one to believe that Satan was indeed the first actor.
There are many inconsistencies in the timeline of Satan’s fall and the creation of
man, but in this particular play man is created after Lucifer’s expulsion from heaven.
After Adam and Eve have been created and share a short dialogue with each other, the
play ends with one last remark from a fallen Lucifer. As he has witnessed the creation of
man and sees the interaction between Adam and Eve he says, “God has maide man with
his hend, to have that blis withoutten end, the neyn ordre to fulfill that after us left-sich is
His will. And now art hay in paradise. Bot thens thay shall, if we be wise.” (Bevington
266) In Bevington’s footnotes he translates the last line as “But Adam and Eve will soon
be expelled from paradise, if we devils proceed craftily” (266).
In this dramatization of the creation and the fall we meet a Satan who is somewhat
comical. His arrogance and audacity would have certainly caused medieval heads to
shake in disbelief. His fate would have most likely been known. Audiences were aware
of the fact that you do not cross God, but medieval audiences loved to see Satan try. In
the end of the play Satan’s last line is somewhat of a cliff hanger. Although the text is
incomplete, it almost adds a more dramatic effect ending the scene with Satan’s last
remark “if we devils proceed craftily.” Satan’s threat leaves an open ending to the play
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announcing to the audience that they have not seen the last of him. He will indeed return
and he will be successful in achieving his promise that Adam and Eve will also be
expelled from paradise, as we will see this dramatized in The Fall of Man.
Figure 7 Fall of the Angels. The Art of Illumination, 1186.
Returning to the issue of mimicking God, we can see a dilemma emerging in
religious drama with the representation of figures of divinity and of evil. How does one
play God, or in a crucifixion play, how does one play Jesus? Many scholars argue that
medieval audiences interpreted religious drama on a very simplistic level. The allegorical
connections made in a present day reading would not have been made by the medieval
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laity. R.W. Hanning’s essay regarding dramatic mimesis in medieval drama can be
applied specifically to the Wakefield’s Creation and Fall of the Angels, allowing one to
understand better the audience’s interpretation of the dramatic action. He brings clarity to
many issues that we, as contemporary readers, might find problematic and blasphemous.
Hanning begins with a discussion on the nature of drama, which he refers to as a
“peculiar feature of the fallen universe” (147). A hierarchy must be established in order
to obtain an understanding of the medieval mind and its reaction to drama. Most of the
playwrights clearly knew their boundaries. Therefore, plays were constructed in such a
way where God is always given the glory and remains inimitable and supreme. It is only
the created ones that engage in dramatic dialogue and action (Lucifer and the angels).
God’s speech in the first scene sets a precedent for his appearances; they are outward in
nature, directly to the audience proclaiming his power and omnipotence. By doing this
an understanding with the audience is created, and we can see that God is not on the
dramatic playing field as the other characters. Hanning argues for a distinction then,
between the creator and the created: “Drama, then, as a form, peculiarly belongs to
God’s creatures, not to their creator” (147). There is no dramatic content with God alone.
It is in the “created” that conflict emerges, which leads to the will and the turning of
one’s will from the things of God to the things of evil. This is first established with
Lucifer and the angels.
Hanning makes another interesting point when he brings up the issue of God’s
throne. God must exit the stage, leaving his throne, in order for Lucifer to sit on it. A
literal view would see God as absent, negligently abandoning his throne, which could be
conveyed as weakness, placing Satan in a position where he has outsmarted God.
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Hanning points out that the audience would have understood that God’s throne (the
dramatic space) must be vacant for the dramatic action to continue. By removing God
from the scene, the playwright would have given audiences the opportunity to imagine
the world without his rule and order. The dramatist uses each of these tools in order to
create the dramatic dialogue and action while maintaining mindfulness in consistently
placing God in a superior position. Now that we have discussed in detail Wakefield’s
Creation and Fall of The Angels, taking time to explore the concept of dramatic mimesis
and how it pertains to religious drama, let us take a look at several other plays found in
the Wakefield, York, and N-Town cycles including The Fall of Man, The Passion Play,
and The Harrowing of Hell. These have been assembled from different playbooks for
each has missing sections found in the different manuscripts. Each regional playbook in
its entirety would have most likely included all of the plays, even if they are not presently
intact. There is an ongoing debate among scholars as to the inconsistencies of the plays
throughout the different regions. Some argue that the different manuscripts are
comparable and others argue that certain details missing or added supersede the
similarities and make them completely different. We are examining each play through
the same lens, focusing on the character of Satan and exploring what this tells us about
the medieval world, which means we are naturally leaning towards the position that the
playbooks are similar enough to be somewhat interchangeable.
York’s The Fall of Man, which was produced as early as 1373, but was adapted
constantly throughout its performance life, is a crucial play to examine in one’s search for
a medieval understanding of Satan. Once again, we will return to the Book of Genesis
(this won’t be the last time). According to Bevington, “The ultimate source for the story
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of Adam’s and Eve’s temptation is, of course the Book of Genesis (see figure 8). Yet the
presence of Satan within the wily serpent can only be inferred from that biblical account.
Satan’s role is based on an exegetical tradition of the Church Fathers” (267).
Figure 8. Guilio Clovio. The Fall of Man Illumination, The Hours of Cardinal Alesssandro Farnese,
1546. New York, The Morgan Library, MS 69, f. 28. Harthan, John. The Book of Hours. New York:
Park Lane, 1977. p. 163
Tradition places heavy emphasis on the consequences of Satan and the other angels
after their fall from heaven. Bevington states that Satan’s fall would set the precedent for
the fall of man: “Satan, having been cast out of heaven for his presumption, resolves to
avenge himself by tempting into disobedience those earthly creatures whom God has
created in his own image” (267). The York manuscript of The Fall of Man captures the
traditional interpretation of the Genesis narrative, and similarly to Hildegard’s tempter
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Satan, we see Satan as the serpent that tempts Eve into disobeying God’s direct
commandment.
Satan enters the garden as the serpent and promises Eve that if she and Adam eat the
forbidden fruit that they will “be goddis and knawe al thing” (Bevington 271). Satan
appears extremely intelligent and witty in this portrayal. His crafty manipulation is
highly effective. He speaks the following lines to Eve, convincing her that she must heed
his instruction and eat of the fruit. Bevington provides translations for several words and
phrases that are more difficult to understand:
SATANAS.
Yha, Eve, to me take tente (pay attention)
Take hede, and thou shalte here (hear)
What that the matere mente (matter, business)
He moved on that manere (He spoke of in)
To ete therof He you defende (forbade)
I knawe it wele, this was His skille (reason)
By-cause He wolde non othir kende (should know)
Thes grete vertues that longes thertill. (Belongs thereto)
For, will thou see, (Don’t you understand)
Who etis the frute, of goode and ille (Whoever eats)
Shalle have knowing as wele as Hee. (269)
Satan, as the manipulative tempter, convinces Eve that God has wronged her, and that she
has the right to possess divine knowledge as well. This should sound very familiar
because it runs parallel to the disobedience of Satan prior to his fall. His arrogance and
audacity to place himself on God’s level ultimately led to his demise, just as the
disobedience of Adam and Eve will soon lead to theirs.
Another detail worth mentioning about the Corpus Christi Cycle is the use of
foreshadowing. The plays are rich in allegorical content, symbolism, and foreshadowing
that will unfold and resurface in plays that come later in the cycle. The Fall of Man sets
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the stage for several major reoccurring themes found throughout the cycles. Just as the
disobedience of Adam and Eve reflect the fall of Satan, they also foreshadow the coming
of Jesus to correct what they have made wrong. Christ’s resistance of Satan’s temptation
and his death on the cross can be seen symbolically in the staging of action around the
“tree of knowledge.” Bevington observes, “Iconographical tradition sometimes
represented the tree in such a way as to suggest the cross of the Crucifixion” (267).
In the following passage Satan actually reveals that he is jealous of God’s plan to
take on the form of man, foreshadowing God’s plan for redemption through Jesus.
Bevington summarizes Satan’s lines 1-11:
My spirit is in turmoil because of woe! What particularly disturbs my
mind is that I saw the Godhead so clearly, and perceived that he would
take upon him the nature of one of the orders he had created; and I thought
it impossible he would accept any being other than that of the angels.
Since we were so fair and bright, I supposed he would have taken our
nature, and [I, meaning Satan] was angry (that he did not). (268)
This passage, which is spoken at the beginning of The Fall of Man, reveals Satan’s anger
towards the coming of Christ and explores the psychology of the fallen angels, which
leads us to The Passion Play from N-Town and Wakefield’s The Harrowing of Hell.
My research began and continued throughout this process very chronologically,
much like the cycles. After reading The Creation and the Fall of the Angels, I found
myself wanting to continue on to the next story with The Fall of Man. This desire to
press on and involve myself in the dramatic action captures the same desire medieval
audiences would have had. The foreshadowing of future events and the build up of
suspense would have had a lasting effect on audience members, keeping them actively
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involved and interested in the dramatic action of the plays, much like a contemporary
television series where audiences are hanging by a thread until the next installment. I
would argue that the later success of morality plays can be attributed to the cycle plays
and their long-term effect on audiences. The Corpus Christi Cycles were exciting and
audience members waited in anticipation to see God’s plan of salvation come to fruition.
This is most prominent in The Passion Play as we witness the events leading up to the
crucifixion of Christ. The cosmic battle between Satan and God continues as we see the
ultimate event where God sacrifices his Son for the salvation of mankind.
The climactic action of this particular play sets itself a part from the others found in
the Corpus Christi Cycle. The intensity escalates throughout, building into large, chaotic
crowd scenes involving violence and the shouting of insults. Christ’s suffering is
amplified, dramatic, and brutal. Late medieval art, as with drama, detours from the
earlier twelfth-century Romanesque, stylized depiction of the crucifixion. Late medieval
or Gothic art places strong emphasis on Christ’s suffering, as can clearly be seen in this
play, which was written sometime in the early fifteenth century and thought to be
performed in either Lincolnshire or Norfolk. The following excerpt was taken from
Bevington’s introduction to The Passion Play from N-Town:
From the moment of Christ’s entry into Jerusalem, he is caught up in an
incessant tumult of events; the conspiracy of the Jews with Judas, the Last
Supper, Christ’s agony on the night before he is taken, the betrayal and
arrest, the trial before the chief priests Caiaphas and Annas (when Christ is
subject to buffeting), Judas’ suicide, the first trial before Pilate, the trial
before Herrod, the resumption of the trial before Pilate (when Christ is
subject to scourging), the torments on the road to Calvary, and so on.
Unremittingly Christ must go undergo indignities, torturings, and insults.
He alone says very little to his detractors. (477)
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Another interesting feature is the use of the monologue or soliloquy to balance out
the intense, disorderly, action-filled crowd scenes. These dramatic solos are sometimes
quiet, emotional, and reflect the character’s innermost feelings toward the events
unfolding around them. The Last Supper involves a dramatic monologue from Jesus.
Later, the grief stricken Virgin Mary emotionally confesses in a soliloquy that the death
of her son is a tragedy, but she realizes that it is a necessary part of God’s plan. After his
denial of Jesus, Peter speaks alone and reflects on what he has done. The use of the
soliloquy is especially relevant to our concentration for the play opens with a lengthy
introduction from Satan himself.
It is no accident that this play was written with a lengthy, dramatic opening
monologue by Satan. It sets the tone of the play and secures the underlying theme of a
greater battle between God and Satan, demons and angels, heaven and hell. There is an
element of extremely sharp irony in Satan’s lines as he reveals his feelings of anger and
disgust with Jesus. He finally realizes that trying to stop Jesus by crucifying him has
actually caused Jesus to fulfill his destiny as the Risen Savior, victorious over death.
Bevington puts it this way:
Too late, however, the devil learns that he has been led into a trap by his
own machinations: Christ is truly the Son of God, and accordingly the
Crucifixion will bring about human salvation rather than Christ’s
downfall. Belatedly sensing his predicament, the devil desperately
appears to Pilate’s wife in a dream and threatens her husband with trouble
unless the Crucifixion can be stopped. Nothing however can prevent what
the devil himself has paradoxically helped set in motion. This cosmic
irony gives perspective to the entire Passion sequence. (478)
The staging of the play is also important in understanding Satan’s place and his
involvement in the action. The play would have been performed in an arena theatre with
43
separate stages or scaffolding located around the periphery of the central acting space.
The detailed stage directions reveal that there were scenes and action often going on
simultaneously. This type of staging also allowed heaven and hell continuously to be
present, aiding Satan in his involvement, and framing the events occurring in the physical
realm with that of the spiritual realm. The diagram (see figure 9) illustrates the possible
staging design for The Passion Play, which was divided into two parts to be presented on
different years.
Figure 9. (Bevington 480)
44
In the beginning of the play the stage directions are as follows: “Satan, gorgeously
attired as a gallant, boasts to the audience” (Bevington 479). Pride becomes a
reoccurring theme in this play as well, beginning with Satan who boasts and flaunts
himself on stage wearing very gaudy apparel. Herod and the other antagonists, chief
priest Annas and Caiaphas, also are seen dressed in grotesquely extravagant clothing,
boasting in arrogance. In line 260-266, Johannes Apostolus (John the Evangelist)
proclaims that Jesus has come to eliminate the deadly sin of pride, conquering it as he
rides into the city of Jerusalem on an ass and humbly washes the feet of his disciples.
Satan begins his speech by proclaiming his royal position as “prince of the werld and
gret duke of helle…sere Satan (sir Satan)” (Bevington 479). Satan’s brilliant performance
is arrogant and worthy of recognition. After his introduction he continues his parade on
stage and boasts of his accomplishments since he fell from heaven. The following lines
capture Satan’s arrogance:
Lo, thus bountevous a lord, than [then], now am I
10 To reward so sinners, as my kend is!
(nature)
Whoso wole folwe my lore and serve me daily, (follow)
Of sowe and peyne annow he shal nevyr mis. (enough)
For, I began in hefni sinne for to sowe
Among all the angellys that weryn there so bryth. (were/bright)
And therefore was I cast out of helle ful lowe,
Notwithstanding I was the fairest and berere of lyth. (bearer of light)
17 Yet I drowe in my tayle. Of tho angelys bryth, (drew/retinue/those)
With me into helle- takith good hed what I say19 I, lefte but tweyn agens on[e] to abide there in lyth,
But the thriddle part come with me. This may not be seyd nay.
(be denied)
Takith hed to your prince, than, my peply everychon,
And seyth that maistryes in hefne I gan ther to play. (see/mastery)
23 To gete a thowsand sowlys in an houre, me thinkith it but skorn.
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24 Sith I wan Adam and Eve on the first day! (Ever since) (Bevington
481)
Satan is audacious and comical. Bevington translates line 19, regarding the angels
Satan “left” in heaven with the following: “I left behind only two-thirds of the total
number to abide there in the heavenly light” (481). Satan’s statement claims that the
angels were left because he decided to leave them, not because of their own free will,
presenting himself as a character so glorious that every angel would have followed him to
hell if he had allowed them to. Bevington also translates line 23-24 as: “Ever since I
began possessing souls on that first day when I won Adam and Eve, I think it a trifle to
collect a thousand souls in one hour” (481). Satan’s speech continues with details
regarding all of his failed attempts to trap Jesus into temptation. He lays out the plan for
Jesus’ downfall, which of course will fail. Terms like “win” illustrate the competitive
spirit of Satan and his actions against God, and interestingly enough the same
terminology is often used on the side of righteousness as well.
In the last section of Satan’s speech before the dramatic action of the play begins, we
find a satirical, stand-up comedy routine where Satan mimics the medieval court fashion
of the time. In the opening of this section we discussed Satan’s display of pride and
arrogance in his gaudy, extravagant clothing. In the last few paragraphs of his speech he
sports his new clothes and humorously shows the audience what material they are made
out of and which countries they were designed and imported from, boasting of the very
expensive prices he paid. Bevington’s translation of lines 70-88 is as follows:
Satan: Hose of breeches made of or enveloped in the most costly crimson
cloth (thus a mere boy, or knave, can rival a gentleman) with two dozen
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laces of kid-leather for securing the hose to the doublet, having tags or
points of pure silver; a shirt of fine Holland cloth (but don’t you worry
about paying for it); a waistcoat of pure cloth of Rennes, the best that may
be bought (yet, although poverty may prevail because you’re spending so
much, don’t let Pride be forgotten, and disdain all those who reprove
Pride...[things a person must wear] A gown or cloak three yards long (see
to it that you rival all classes of persons who surpass you in rank); a purse
(even if it is empty); a dagger with which to perform service (and
wherever there is reproof of sin, see to it that you argue back); your hair
with long locks, I swear, hanging down to your collar, to give shelter to
live animals such as fleas that tickle men a-nights, a high little hat for
curing or hiding a bald spot (and despise all beggars and poor people.)
(483)
In a contemporary setting it is difficult to imagine this hilarious routine performed
prior to the events leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus. The play quickly shifts into
something very dramatic and intense in nature, yet it opened up with this very hysterical
monologue from Satan. Bevington’s translation closely follows the format of the original
text. I imagine the lines that are in parenthesis spoken as a sarcastic side note, or under
the actor’s breath, sort of a “wink, wink” statement if you will.
Following The Passion Play I-II, audiences would have seen the The Buffeting of
Christ, The Scourging of Christ, The Crucifixion of Christ, Christ’s Death and Burial,
and The Harrowing of Hell. Our attention shall move towards the latter for its depiction
of Satan is of great importance. The Harrowing of Hell is an event that is not found
anywhere in the Bible, but is an essential part of all the Corpus Christi cycles. The
narrative of Jesus’ “harrowing of hell” shares a similar shroud of mystery with that of the
creation narrative not found so concisely elaborated upon in the Bible. As we discussed
in chapter one, certain creation accounts and the fall of Satan can be linked to other
apocryphal texts and ancient mythology. The Harrowing of Hell is no different and many
scholars have found similarities between Jesus’s descent into hell and other mythological
47
heroes who have descended into the under world to save souls who have been trapped
there.
In an article discussing The Harrowing of Hell and other mythological folklore Sona
Rosa Burstein argues that the medieval narrative follows the traditional folklore
involving the “harrowing” of an underworld of some kind, linking it to ancient texts such
as Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad, and many other cultural myths from primitive and tribal
groups. Three significant qualities of the medieval Harrowing of Hell ring true with
other mythological narratives like it. Burstein argues that these essential elements are
found in many “other world” journeys:
(1), An other-world under the earth, people principally by spirits of the
dead.
(2), A ruler or rulers of this ghost-world, presenting at last an evolved
dualism, with the power or powers of evil ruling in the underworld as
opposed to the power of good presiding over the happier spirits of heaven.
(It is possible also that the Devil is fused with a leftover specialized high
God from earlier belief.
(3), A redeemer-hero, whose power is of the transcendental kind. His
mana is that of the introvert rather than the extrovert,-the priest rather than
the soldier. Finally, the salvation which he brings is dependent on his own
moral purity. It may even involve a vicarious sacrifice of atonement. The
evil which his holiness is strong to vanquish is that of the underworld
Powers, not of the souls in which he saves. (131)
Burstein’s writing, as a folklorist, focuses primarily on the mythological stream of
The Harrowing of Hell; however, she also references in passing its theological stream
which is more relevant to our discussion of Satan in medieval Christianity. Although the
mythological tradition is very interesting to take into consideration, we must look at the
content keeping in mind its context as it relates to Corpus Christi Cycle and ultimately
the cosmic battle between Satan and God, for this is somewhat of a finale to the ongoing
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duel we have seen thus far (see figure 10). If anything, this article brings to the forefront
(again) the idea that these figures, characters, and stories are not exclusively Christian,
but can be found in the ancient world, especially in apocryphal texts such as the Book of
Nicodemus, the origin of the Harrowing, as referenced in the writings of Church Father
Clement of Alexandria (Russell, Satan 116).
Figure 10. The Harrowing of Hell. Lincoln Cathedral, 1141-1160.
The crown on Christ's head shows he is victorious, a point made even more clear by
feet atop a defeated Satan.
his
This narrative also derives from scripture found in Psalms 24: “Lift up your heads, O
ye gates, and be lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of Glory shall come in.” The
apocryphal account of Christ’s entering into Hell to retrieve the souls of the lost had
49
become universally accepted throughout Christendom for it answered a very important
theological question: What happened to the souls of the righteous (saints included) who
lived and died during the long period of time from Adam to the advent of Christ? The
Righteous who died prior the advent of Christ were placed in a state of limbo where they
were indeed absent of God’s presence, but were not subject to the tortures of the damned.
We will also discuss the Harrowing further in chapter five when we examine Dante’s
Inferno. It is mentioned in Canto IV by Dante’s guide Virgil. Virgil remains in Hell
because he was not exposed to Christianity in his lifetime. He refers to Christ as the one
who rescued the Hebrews, the forefathers of Christianity, but also remarks how the pact
was left behind to reside in his assigned circle.
In The Harrowing of Hell from the Wakefield Cycle, Christ stands outside of Hell
and hears the patriarchs of the past prophetically proclaiming his soon-to-come entrance
(see figure 11). Obviously, Jesus is the victor in this scenario and Satan has been
defeated. His overthrow is comical and completely absurd. Bevington remarks: “Satan’s
followers are comic in much the same ludicrous vein as their master: they raise the alarm
in noisy panic, shore up useless defenses against Christ’s entry, and turn on one another
in an orgy of mutual recriminations” (594).
The character of Jesus, having died on the cross and gone through the burial process,
begins with the following lines and stage directions:
Incipit Extracto Animarum, etc. (Here begins the Deliverance of Souls,
etc.)
[The soul of Jesus, outside hell gates, prepares to confront Satan]
Jhesus: My Fader me from blis has send (sent)
Till erth for mankinde sake, (To)
Adam mis for to amend- (Adam’s sin)
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7
My deth nede must I take.
I dwelled ther thirty yeres and two,
And somdele more, the sothe to say (somewhat)
In anger, pyne, and meckyll wo,
(pain, suffering/much)
I dyde on the cros the day.
Therefore till hell no I go (to)
To chalange that is mine. (claim that which)
Adam, Eve, and othere mo,
(more)
Thay shall no longer dwell in pine. (suffering) (Bevington 595)
Figure 11. Mantegna, Andrea. Christ's Descent into Limbo. oil on panel, 1470-75.
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The show down begins upon the arrival of Jesus. In great alarm, Ribald, the porter of
hell, screams out to the demon Belzabub (Beelzebub) to prepare to resist Christ’s
advances.
90
“Sen first that hell was mayde and I was put therein,
Sich sorrow never ere I had, nor hard I sich a din!
My hart beginnys to brade, my witt waxys thin;
Idrede we cannot be glad—thise saules mon fro us twin!
How, Belzabub! Binde thise boys! Sich harrow was never hard in hell.”
(Bevington 597)
The terror quickly escalates, and several demons gather together to inform Satan and
Lucifer of Christ’s arrival. Satan threatens to beat out Belzabub’s brains for disturbing
him. The devils refuse to open the gate, as Christ exclaims, “Attolite portas, principes,
vestras, et elevamini portae aeternales, et introibit rex gloriae. (Lift up your gates, you
princes, and be lifted up, you everlasting doors, and the king of glory will come in.)”
(Bevington 598) Ribald responds to Christ’s proclamation in the following lines, “Out
harro, out! What devil is he that callys him king over us all?” (Bevington 598).
Satan ascends from the pit of hell, and Christ tells him that he has come to claim the
souls of those that belong to him, and that he has been sent by his Father. Satan answers,
“Thy fader knew I well by sight,” (Bevington 602) while reasoning with Christ on the
injustice of releasing those already damned. Once Satan realizes his argument is failing,
he entreats Christ to take him out of hell as well. Jesus responds by saying that he will
leave the following people in hell to keep him company: Cain, Judas, Achitophel
(counselor to Absalom who joined him in rebellion against David), Cato, and others who
had also destroyed themselves. Jesus continues on by saying that those who do not
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follow the laws that he has set before them will end up in hell. This causes Satan to
rejoice, as he congratulates himself, for hell will soon be fuller than ever before.
347 Sathanas: Thies laws that thou has late here laide,
(lately/set down)
348 I shall theym lere not to alow; (teach)
If thay min[e] take, thay ar betraide!
And I shall turne theym tytt, I trow. (mislead/quickly)
I shall walk eest, I shall walk west,
352 And gar theym wirk well war. (cause them) (Bevington 605)
Lines 347-348 and 352 are translated as, “I shall teach the people to refuse to obey these
laws (of the New Testament) which have lately set down on earth…And cause the people
to act much worse (than ever).” (605) Jesus replies, “Devill, I commaunde the[e] to do
downe into thy sete where thou shall sit!” (606) Satan is then cast down into the hell pit.
Jesus frees Adam, Eve, Moses, David, and Isaiah who leave rejoicing and singing “Te
Deum laudamus (We praise you, O God)” (Bevington 607)
The battle of wits between Satan and Jesus in The Harrowing of Hell is legendary
and although Satan does throw out several sharp threats and his following of demon
buffoons make a mess of things, Jesus ultimately wins the battle. Satan’s threats cannot
be considered empty, though. He tells Jesus that he intends to walk east and west in
order to seduce mankind away from obedience and righteousness. This threat resonates
in the medieval mind for, as we will see in the medieval morality play, Satan is always
there waiting to trip up mankind. He lurks behind every corner, and although he may be
comical and sin might appear fun for a season, it will catch up with you in the end and
there will be hell to pay.
Satan’s transformation is far from being complete in our exploration of his presence
in the medieval world. As his role in Christianity is ingrained into the medieval psyche
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through the Corpus Christi cycles, eventually his character is released from the restraints
of pure biblical based narrative, which already liberally granted him “VIP” participation,
to promote his crucial involvement in the history of salvation. As the reigns of creative
freedom and interpretation shift into the hands of the medieval laity, Satan transcends
biblical history and enters into the realm of the individual’s reality reshaping the view of
temptation, sin, and evil into something much more relevant and personal.
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Chapter 4
The Morality Play
The surviving medieval morality plays, often referred to as moral interludes, consist of
five main texts that were produced from the late fourteenth century to the early sixteenth.
Among them are The Pride of Life, The Castle of Perseverance, Mankind, Wisdom, and,
Everyman. Although these are often referred to as the most significant plays of this
genre, it is important to mention that after the turn of fifteenth century the morality play
became so popular and such a staple of dramatic entertainment that numerous plays were
written and produced. The history of the morality play differs significantly from that of
the Corpus Christi Cycle plays and the saint‟s play. First, there is little or no connection
between early liturgical drama and the morality play; it really is a genre in its own right.
Secondly, the morality play is independent of other medieval drama because of its
adaptability to new ideologies and secular socio-cultural conditions which played a huge
role in the developmental stages of renaissance drama. By the late fourteenth century the
cycles and the saint‟s plays faced heavy scrutiny from the churches of the reformation,
but the morality play transcended the criticism and continued to gain popularity
becoming a significant force to be reckoned with.
The morality play represents a shift in focus. It “tells the story of a representative
individual Christian rather than the collective history of all men…the morality play
chooses a central figure even more universal than the saint‟s play” (Bevington 792).
These plays were written to be understood by all regardless of social status, biblical
background, and comprehension. As seen in figure 12, the central character in the
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morality play is the character of Mankind, Everyman, or a similar title that represents all
living men and women. Abstract representations of the human state of mind accompany
the Everyman character: Despair, Courage, and Patience etc… Throughout this universal
character‟s journey he is torn between a battle of virtue and vice, as seen earlier in
Hildegard‟s Ordo Virtutum.
The early history of the morality play is somewhat vague, but there are definite
influences that can be traced to the development in the later years. As seen in the saint
plays, the Corpus Christi plays, and medieval art and literature, allegory manifested itself
in every way imaginable, which undoubtedly spilled over into the medieval morality
play. Sermons frequently allegorized the Seven Deadly Sins and the Cardinal Virtues,
which is a tradition that dates back to the fourth-century Christian poet Prudentius who
wrote the latin poem Psychomachia The Contest of the Soul. This epic poem allegorizes
the battle of virtue and vice as a chivalric tournament of strength and wit. Other
important writings are thought to have influenced the morality play including the late
thirteenth-century Roman de la Rose, where a woman is seduced by abstract
personifications of virtues such as Pity and Fair Welcome. The thirteenth-century
Chateau d’ Amour Castle of Love metaphorically tells the story of a castle being
besieged in the name of virtue, as well the late fourteenth-century Piers Plowman where
the Seven Deadly Sins are portrayed in an allegorical attack on a castle. You may not
find direct connections between any of these poems and the morality play, but together
they paint the picture of a world where the extended metaphor was in frequent use, and
was relied heavily upon to portray the spiritual battle between good and evil.
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Figure 12. Medieval morality play. Sharp‟s A Dissertation of the Pageants, 1865.
This illustration of a medieval morality play performance captures the massive crowd of spectators. It
effectively depicts an audience captivated by the dramatic action taking place on stage. It also helps us
to understand how space and movement contribute to the audience‟s theatrical experience. People are
close to the action and to the other spectators creating a unique relationship between drama and real
life, unlike a contemporary theatrical experience where there is a dividing line between actor and
audience member.
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Figure 13. Pynson, Richard. The Summoning of Everyman. Ed. John S. Farmer. London: Gibbings
& for the Early English Drama Society, 1906.
This illustration of the Everyman character has become an iconographical symbol of the morality
play. It shows humanity on one side and the Angel of Death on the other making a deal or
bargain, a reoccurring theme in medieval drama and literature. The following lines from the play
often accompany the illustration.
Everyman: O Death, thou comest when I had thee least in mind; In thy power it lieth me to save,
Yet of my good will I give thee, if ye will be kind, Yea, a thousand pound shalt thou have, And
defer this matter till another day.
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David Klausner‟s introduction to The Castle of Perseverance illustrates the
effectiveness of these abstract representations on the medieval understanding of morality
as well its influence on the themes found in late medieval and Renaissance theatre.
The frequent use in morality plays of a “Vice” figure distinguished from the
allegorized sins, such as Backbiter in The Castle of Perseverance, Mischief and the
three Worldlings in Mankind, and Lucifer in Wisdom, has been seen as influencing
Shakespeare‟s Falstaff and Iago as well as Marlowe‟s Mephistopheles…and
performances of all of these plays (with the exception of the fragmentary Pride of
Life) have shown them to be highly effective vehicles for moral thought based on a
keen understanding of the potential of allegory as a technique for the concrete
representation of abstract ideas. (The Castle of Perseverance)
The Castle of Perseverance is not only the earliest morality play to be found, but it is
also the most comprehensive. The play dates from the early fifteenth century (14051420) and was performed in the area of England called the East Midlands, made up of
Lincolnshire, Norfolk, and Cambridge. The story begins before the birth of “Mankind”
who is referred to as Humanum Genus and is completed after his death where he is
ultimately granted salvation. The opening speeches are given by Humanum‟s three
enemies: the World, the Flesh, and the Devil1. Each of these characters speaks from his
own platform or scaffold and introduces his followers which are the Seven Deadly Sins.
World introduces Greed (Avarice and Covetousness), his chief henchman. Flesh, who
oversees the sins committed by the flesh, stands accompanied by Sloth, Lechery, and
Gluttony. According to Bevington, “Lechery is often the starting point of a life in sin;
and Covetousness is the sin of old age, when all others fail” (797). The Devil oversees the
spiritual sins of Pride, Wrath, and Envy.
1
The personifications of virtue and vice appear capitalized for dramatic purposes.
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The hierarchy of vices as seen in Perseverance accurately reflects the doctrinal
teachings of the early Church Fathers. The characteristics of Satan and other fallen
angels can be seen in the work of St. Augustine as well as Thomas Aquinas as discussed
in chapter one. In A Tour of the Summa, Aquinas provides answers to many theological
questions such as the nature of evil, Satan, and Fallen Angels. The Devil in Perseverance
is personified by the vices Pride, Wrath, and Envy. Aquinas would agree with this
assignment, for these are sins of the Spirit not of the Flesh. The Devil, being a fallen
angel, bodiless, with a particular nature, would not be inclined to the sins of the flesh.
They would not pertain to him. Perseverance is comprehensive in this regard for it
provides a detailed reflection of Catholic theology and thought.
Throughout the play God must reconcile, through his atonement, the diverse impulses
of the Cardinal Virtues. Every virtue has its own individual antithesis, but ultimately the
battle is between God and Satan, in which the humility and meekness of Jesus will
conquer the pride of Satan. Figure 14, found in the original Perseverance manuscript,
provides a detailed staging diagram assigning each character to a particular playing
space, which was a scaffold of some type.
According to the diagram one can see that along the periphery of the acting space five
scaffolds with four main areas are assigned to the central characters and the fifth given to
Greed, who is located in the north-east between God and Satan. Perhaps this was used to
suggest that money itself is neutral (it can be given to God, i.e. the Church) or it can be
used to overindulge ones self in the sinful ways of the world. God is located in the East,
the World in the West, Flesh in the South, and the Devil in the North. The castle can be
seen in the center of the acting space. Mankind‟s bed is located directly under the castle,
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and while the exact structure of the castle is unclear, we know that it must be large
enough to house at least nine characters: the seven Cardinal virtues, Mankind, and the
Good Angel. The castle most likely had an upper and lower level as well, for the Devil
and also the Four Daughters of God (Mercy, Righteousness, Truth, and Peace) must be
seen on the lower level.
Figure 14 Staging for The Castle of Perseverance. Translated by Bevinton (797).
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Bevington‟s translation reveals the original costume concept for both the Daughter‟s
of God and also Belial: “The four daughters shall be clad in mantles: Mercy in white,
Righteousness in red altogether, Truth in sad green, and Peace in all black; and they shall
play in the place altogether till they bring up the soul” (797). He continues with the
translation for Satan, which is extremely comedic to visualize: “And he that shall play
Belial look that he have gun powder burning in pipes in his hands and in his ears and in
his arse when he goeth to battle” (797). The very colorful stage directions for Belial
make it very clear that we are going to find an interesting satanic representation in
Perseverance. Let us first ask, who is Belial?
As seen in The Harrowing of Hell, even Satan and Lucifer can be distinguished as
separate entities. The Catholic encyclopedia helps to clarify this figure of Belial:
Found frequently as a personal name in the Vulgate and various
English translations of the Bible, is commonly used as a synonym of
Satan, or the personification of evil. This sense is derived from 2
Corinthians 6:15, where Belial (or Beliar) as prince of darkness is
contrasted with Christ, the light. It is clear in the Vulgate and Douay
translations of 1 Kings 21:10 and 13, where the same Hebrew is
rendered once as Belial and twice as "the devil." (Fenlon)
The name Belial is often used interchangeably with Satan or the Devil, not to be confused
with „a‟ devil, as Milton in Paradise Lost distinguishes between the two, referring to
Belial as a demon of impurity. In Perseverance, Belial‟s introduction is quite memorable
clearing up any confusion as to who he is, and what he is capable of doing:
Belial: Now I sitte, Satanas, in my sad sinne, (steadfast)
As devil dowty, in draf as a drake. (doughty, filth like dragon)
I champe and I chafe, I chocke my chinne, (gnash my teeth/thrust out)
I am boistows and bold, as Belial the blake. (fierce/black)
What folk that I grope, they gapyn and grenne. (grasp/gnash teeth)
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Iwis, fro Carlylle into Kent my carping they take! (they receive my
censure)
Bothe the bak and buttoke brestith al on brenne; (burst all a-burning)
With werkys of wreche I werke hem mikyl wrake; (vengeance/them
much harm)
In woo is al my wenne. (delight)
In care I am cloyed, (sorrow/burdened)
And fowle I am annoyed (foully, grievously)
But Mankinde be stroyed (unless/destroyed)
By dikys and by denne. (valley, i.e. everywhere) (Bevington 805)
The drama begins with a comical argument between Humanun Genus and the Bonus
Angelus (Good Angel) and the Malus Angelus (Bad Angel.) The Good Angel remains
pious and steadfast in righteousness, quoting scripture in the mother tongue trying to steer
Humanum Genus in the right direction. The Bad Angel naturally opposes the pious ways
of the good Angel, speaking freely and smoothly, promising fun in the present moment.
Malus Angelus convincingly poses this thought, “Ya, on thy sowle thou shalt thinke al
betime [soon enough]” (Bevington 811) but in the meantime, enjoy the pleasures of this
world and take time to repent when “thou be sexty winter hold. W[h]anne thy nose
waxit[h] cold, Thanne mayst thou drawe to good” (811). In other words, the Bad Angel
convinces Humanus Genus to take advantage of sin now; for there will be time when he
is sixty years old to repent and live righteously. Humanum Genus buys into the Bad
Angel‟s plan and agrees that he is young and has many years to turn his life around, so
why not enjoy the freedom the World has to offer. He soon meets the Seven Deadly
Sins, who manipulate him into believing that they are polite and kind, but behind his back
they mock him and find his misfortune hilarious. Malus Angelus, of course, gloats of his
victory in steering away Humanus Genus from the Bonus Angelus.
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Humanus Genus‟s excuses and frustration continue to escalate until finally
Paenitentia (Penance) has had enough and raises her launce of conscience and pierces his
heart, essentially using violence to win him back over instead of ineffective dialogue.
This sparks Humanus Genus‟s conversion and return to grace. He confesses his sin, is
absolved, and returns to the Castle. This infuriates Malus Angelus and creates a violent
uproar amongst Belial and the Vices. Belial chastises the Vices and begins to assault
them:
Belial: Sey, gadelingys! Have ye harde grace, (bad luck)
And evil deth mote ye deye! (may you die an evil death)
Why lete ye Mankind fro you pase (pass, escape)
Into yene castel, fro us aweye?
With tene I schal you tey. (pain/bind)
Harlotys, at onys (Rascals (get away) at once
Fro this wonys! (From here)
By Belials bonys,
Ye schul abeye! (pay for it)
[Stage Directions] Et verberabit eos super terram. (And he will beat
them on the ground)
After they attack one another and regain their wits, Belial leads them in a siege against
the castle to take back the soul of Humanum Genus. Just when audiences thought that all
was well with mankind and Humanun Genus was safe in God‟s graces, things fall apart,
promoting the worldview that nothing is stable and one must continue to keep one‟s
guard up. A battle between the virtues and vices pursues as the castle is under attack.
The virtues throw rose petal at the vices which represent the passion of Christ. As the
battle continues, Superbia (Pride) shouts, “Out! My proude bak is bent!” (2199). Invidia
(Envy) vulgarly cries out, “Al min[e] enmite is not worth a fart; I schite and schake al in
my schete!” (shit/underwear) (2211). Ira also wails, “I am al betyn blak and blo. With a
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rose that on rode was rent. (rose torn off the cross) My speche is almost spent” (22192221).
Although the Virtues fight victoriously, the Sins triumph a second time. Covetousness
attacks with sweet words instead of violence and Avaritia deceives him by politely
speaking to the Virtues as if they were friends. Avaritia eventually wins him over by
making him fearful of being poor in his old age. Humanus Genus leaves the castle and
spends the remaining years of his life with Avaritia and the World until the inevitable
occurs, Death arrives. In a brilliant climatic scene Anima, the personification of
Mankind‟s soul, crawl‟s out from under Humanum Genus‟s bed and cries out to God for
salvation. In this deathbed prayer he cries, “But God me graunte of his grace…I putte
me in Goddys mercy!” (3002). Malus Angelus strikes Anima (soul) three times and drags
him into Hell which is located on Belial‟s scaffold. The four Daughters come forward
and plead with God to redeem the soul. In the end, after considering the pleas from the
Daughters Mercy, Justice, Truth, and Peace, God grants Humanus Genus salvation and he
is saved.
Pater Sedens in Juditio (The Father sitting in Judgement):
My mercy, Mankind, geve I the[e]
Cum, sit at my ryth honde! (right hand)
Ful wel have I lovyd the[e]
Unkind thow[gh] I the[e] fonde. (found)
As a sparke of fire in the se, (sea)
My mercy is sinne-quenchand. (quenching)
Thou hast cause to love me
Abovyn al thinge in land,
And kepe my comaundement.
If thou me love and drede.
Hevene schal be thy mede;
My face the[e] schal fedeThis is min[e] judgement. (Bevington 898)
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The Castle of Perseverance, as the earliest morality play, sets the precedent for others
to come. Although the play ends with God as victorious and a message of love and
grace, followed by a stern warning of the consequences of sin, we still cannot ignore the
emphasis placed on the vices and the character of Belial throughout. As we will also run
into in Mankind, the Seven Deadly Sins and Belial represent an element of humanity that
makes them easy to relate to. Their physical humor and slang speech would have
appealed to audiences, making the didactic portions of text easier to swallow. However,
this is not a black and white concept to grasp. The play maintains a delicate balance
between the humor and comedic value of Satan‟s minions, and the fear and violence
involved with Satan himself. The vulgarity of the Vices also throws an interesting twist
into the morality play experience as well. In Mankind, we will discuss the concept of
“theatrical sin” further.
The character of Mercy begins the play Mankind with a warning. The audience is
reminded of the importance of avoiding temptation, for in the end there will come a day
when everyone will be judged by God, and each soul will answer for the sin that he has
committed, “For certainly there shall be a straight/strict examination” (McDonald 2).
Immediately after Mercy‟s lengthy disclaimer to the audience, we meet the character of
Mischief who creates a parody of Mercy‟s lines, inviting the demons or vices New Guise,
Nowadays, and Nought onto the stage. Mercy pleads with them to stop, but Mischief
replies that he has come to “make you game” or to have fun at Mercy‟s expense. The
vices display complete irreverence to Mercy, taking great amusement in their mockery of
him.
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With the entrance of the vices we see a dramatic shift in tone. Mercy‟s sermon is
interrupted and the “three stooge-like” demons completely steal the show. Mercy has
made a clear warning that these characters are dangerous, and that they should be
avoided, but their humor and stage presence stimulates an opposite reaction, creating a
desire to see more and hear more from them. The playwright very brilliantly weaves an
experiment of morality into the very fiber of the play, involving the audience into the test
of temptation. Will the audience heed Mercy‟s warning or will they, like the character
Mankind, eventually succumb to the temptation of sin, which in this case sin means
participating in the shenanigans and laughing at the crude jokes of the vices?
Mankind enters the stage after the first comical feud takes place between Mercy and
the demons, supporting the notion mentioned earlier regarding the pre-existence of
tension between good and evil before humanity, making man just a pawn in a continuous
dual between God and Satan. Mankind enters and we find Mercy encouraging him to
stay on the path of righteousness, but meanwhile the demonic characters are mocking
Mercy and Mankind‟s devotion to God, creating twists and puns in the words that they
have spoken. A very memorable exchange of lines can be seen here before Mankind
enters. Mercy sternly recites the following lines and Mischief mockingly responds:
Mercy: For certainly there shall be a straight/strict examination. The
corn shall be saved and the chaff shall be burnt. I beseech you
heartily to keep these meditations in mind.
Mischief : I beseech you heartily to leave you flattering, leaver you
chaff, leave your corn, leave your silliness. Your wit is little
but your head is big. You are full of prediction. But sir I pray
answer this one question. Mish-mash, driff-draff some was
corn and some was chaff, some was corn and some was crap
unshut your lock and take a half penny. (McDonald 2)
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When Mankind enters the stage the vices pull out all of the stops. Mankind tells the vices
that he prays for God to send him good fortune. They turn his heartfelt response into a
crude song. They sing the following song loudly and encourage the audience to join in as
well:
Let‟s all work at singing and having fun: „It is written with a coal, it is
written with a coal. It is written with a coal, it is written with a coal.
He that shiteth with his hole, He that shiteth with his hole, He that
shiteth with his hole…Unless he wipes his ass clean…on his pants it
shall be seen…[All three sing together] Holely, hole lick! Holely, holy
lick! Holely, hole lick!” (McDonald 13)
In singing this “Christmas song,” the audience finds itself entrapped into what I like to
call “theatrical sin.” Their participation in the live performance shifts from something
innocent to willful sin, as they laugh at Mankind and sing a funny, but distasteful tune.
They have fallen into the trap of temptation that they were warned about from the
beginning of the play, and by being involved in the dramatic action of the play they have
sided with the dark side. In addition to the entrapment of singing a sinful song, the
demons also build up anticipation for Tituvillus‟s entrance by collecting money from the
audience, similar to a church offering. Audiences, desiring to see an appearance from
Tituvillus, would have given money. Again this demonstrates the audience‟s desire to be
entertained by the demons, showing their favor towards sinful humor rather than the
virtuous dialogues found in Mercy and Mankind‟s scenes.
Naturally the good side prevails in Mankind, the moral to the story becomes clear, but
the audience is lured into temptation along the way. Despite the constant reminders to be
on the alert for the Devil and his tricks, the audience continues to buy into the play‟s
humor, falling into the play‟s trap of theatrical sin which then leads to guilt, that powerful
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tool of manipulation. Mercy ends the play with a monologue that could be considered a
sermon. Just as Mankind experiences in the play, the audience is taught a valuable lesson
that although something appears to be fun and comical, evil can quickly shift into
something bad and destructive.
The story of Mankind might end on a high note, just as the epic Castle of
Perseverance, turning the attention back to God, but the representations of evil seen in
the vices and especially in the demon Titivillus reveals something of great importance in
regards to the medieval mind and its attitude towards life and sin. Naturally, audiences
are going to favor scenes that are funny and comical, and as the memorable characters
found in these scenes grew in popularity, the demand for more and more appearances
would soon follow. This demand would pave the way for Titivillus to have a whole new
theatrical career.
According to Russell, the minor demon Tutivillus (see figure 15) would become a
major one: “Tutivillus was usually a parody of the Recording Angel, a minor demon who
carried about a sack containing lists of sins or verses skipped by careless monks during
the office or omitted by bungling scribes in the scriptorium” (249). His popularity can be
seen in Mankind, when the vices build up Tutivillus‟s anticipated entrance, going so far
as to take an offering from the audience in order to get him on stage. The fact that this
demon was celebrated speaks volumes about the complex nature of medieval religion,
culture, and the duality of the medieval morality play. While possessing didactic
qualities, the play also allows for an unparalleled entertainment experience with Satan
and his minions right in the center of the action.
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Figure 15. Tutivillus “The Patron Demon of Scribes” from Pereira‟s “Titivillus, Demonio, El
Gran Aliado De Los Copistas,” 2010.
This illustration shows Tutivillus interfering while a monk tries to write. Tutivillus is often
associated with the phrase “The Devil made me do it!” Blaming the Devil for errors while
translating church documents.
As suggested in chapter three‟s closing, the morality play demonstrates the
medieval laity‟s influence on the play‟s dramatic content. While the plays themselves
ultimately honor the medieval Catholic tradition, they also welcome a more secular
element into the characterizations of both mankind and evil. From the perspective of the
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theatrical producer, each production requires a level of audience satisfaction, even if it is
achieved through the use of vulgarity and violence. Also by placing the audience into the
very story itself, as seen in Mankind’s crowd participation scene, the individual‟s
theatrical experience is altered. If vulgarity and crude humor are a necessity in producing
a crowd pleaser, then who other than Satan to carry out this task, for entertainment‟s sake
of course. All of these components work together in a collaborative sense to formulate
the medieval perspective of Satan, who has now become a two-fold character closely
resembling the dual faces of drama, the masks of comedy and tragedy.
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Chapter 5
Dante, Marlowe, and Milton: Lasting Satanic Impressions
After reading the Castle of Perseverance and Mankind, which represent just
two of many other medieval morality plays, the fact that there was a vigorous
appetite for allegory and legend in the medieval world cannot be denied. I am
also convinced that with the influence of medieval drama, deep-seated
superstition, and the blending of canonical teachings and residual apocryphal
texts, the medieval audience did not know how to distinguish what was truly
scriptural from that which we now consider myth or legend. When one connects
all of these ideas together, with the surviving manuscripts serving as a guide, it
paints the picture of a very different time and place, where the disparate views of
individuals were wide ranging, and an interpretive freedom resides.
In a conversation with Dr. Greg Cavenaugh, a scholar who uses Bakhtin‟s
philosophy to understand the medieval audience‟s theatrical experience, he
explained that there are different types of possible mindsets that some medieval
audiences might bring to a theatrical performance. His operating assumptions
were that “although the audience certainly had a great deal of interpretive
freedom, socio-cultural circumstances would have tended to limit the range of
viable perceptions of the event.” In Cavenaugh‟s work, he argues that a variety of
mindsets were most certainly represented among audiences, especially given the
presence of other religious, social, and political discourses. This applies to the
medieval idea of Satan as well. Although reccurring themes and representations
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have been found, his value and the real meaning of his presence would have
varied from person to person. While his character and his degree of involvement
in a medieval person‟s life might have been in question, I am confident that
Satan‟s existence was not in question at all. It was a certainty.
Many issues that we have discussed create a confusing or inconsistent
depiction of medieval drama: the blending of the sacred and the grotesque;
didactic methods mixed with pure entertainment; lofty, spiritual moments
followed by slap-stick humor and buffoonery acted out by demons and devils
dragging folks off to hell, crude humor and theatrical sin followed by what might
even be considered a medieval “altar call.” Each component mentioned falls
under the umbrella of this vast thing we call medieval drama and eventually leads
us into the realm of phenomenon.
The phenomenon known as medieval drama involved whole communities
requiring the multitude to be present and actively involved in the planning and
executing of such an event. The late morality play itself represents the people in
more ways than one. It is the average of all of their intelligence and religious
understanding, thus truly giving us a window into the medieval mind. This could
be perhaps one of the reasons why many medieval plays created by the layman for
the layman are considered deficient or lacking a master playwright, or a master
poetic voice who eloquently pens on to the page the epic, medieval Christian
experience. Such a voice might not be found in the medieval plays we have
discussed thus far; however, it can be heard throughout the medieval world. This
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influential voice belongs to Dante, who introduces us to a Satan who is powerful
both throughout the circles hell and on the earth. In Dante‟s mystical cosmology
one is either moving up and out towards God or is moving down into the core of
darkness towards Satan.
The fourteenth-century, epic poem Divine Comedy, is an allegorical telling of
the human soul‟s journey towards God. As he travels to the center of the earth,
the concentric circles represent a gradual increase in wickedness culminating in
the wickedest of all, Satan himself in the center.
In Dante‟s cosmology (see figure 16), “when we are filled with our true
human nature, which is made in the image of God and buoyed by the action of the
Holy Spirit within us, we rise naturally toward God, we spread out, widen our
vision, open ourselves to light, truth, and love” (Russell 217). Likewise when we
are steered away from the truth into an illusion of reality and driven by the
pleasures of the flesh, we become bogged down by sin and ignorance. In this
burdened state we sink downward, away from God, becoming “ever more
narrowly confined and stuffy, our eyes gummed shut and our vision turned within
ourselves, drawn down, heavy, closed off from reality, bound by ourselves to
ourselves, shut in and shut off, shrouded in darkness and sightlessness, angry,
hating, and isolated” (Russell 217). The medieval morality play depicted the
consequences of sin, but Dante‟s Hell surpasses any other medieval attempt to
show the tragic and gruesome consequences of succumbing to temptation. As
seen in figure 17, Dante‟s journey through the circles of Hell gives one the
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opportunity to experience Hell personally, in hopes that one will grasp its
intensity, causing a change of heart and allowing God‟s transformation to take
place.
Figure 16. Dante‟s Cosmology from Studies in the History and Method of Science by
Charles Singer, 1917.
Although Dante‟s intention was not to write a treatise on the Cosmos, Divine Comedy
outlines a distinct structure of the universe where the physical world is only a
manifestation of the moral reality.
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Figure 17. Dante‟s Circles of Hell from Lapham's Quarterly, 2011.
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Dante‟s Hell is terrifying, and the agony and torment the damned shall endure
is vivid and disturbing. When Dante reaches the final circle of Hell, however, the
Satan he finds is more grotesque and pathetic than the terrifying creature one
would expect. Dante‟s Satan is empty. Russell writes, “The lack of dramatic
action on the part of Dante‟s Lucifer is a deliberate statement about his essential
lack of being” (225). As seen depicted in figure 18, Satan at the center of the
earth, the final circle of Hell, is stuck with his buttocks in ice bearing the weight
of the world. As one travels downward through each circle of Hell, the heaviness
and burden of sin increases eventually leading to the lowest circle where in the
dead center Satan resides. This place where the heaviest weights unite creates a
stale environment where there can be no motion, an atmosphere of lifelessness
and death. Russell muses:
If all things are drawn to God, what can be drawn to Lucifer? Only the
nothingness and meaningless of sin. As we close upon ourselves when we
turn away from God toward unreality, so the center of Hell is a dark mass
turned infinitely in upon itself, cut completely and forever off from reality.
Satan, the symbol of this nothingness, can have no real character except
negation and so his futile immobility is precisely what Dante wished to
portray. Satan‟s nothingness permeates everywhere, a cold counterpart to
the warm presence of the Dove. (226)
The character of Satan in Dante‟s Inferno (see figure 18) is complex and
worthy of scrupulous character analyses, but for the purpose of my research I
would like to highlight a particular aspect of Dante‟s Satan connecting it to the
reoccurring motif I found in the plays we have already discussed and the work of
Marlowe and Milton. The issue that must be addressed is Satan‟s relentless desire
for our souls. We have definitely seen this motif throughout the many plays we
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have discussed and it surfaces again in Dante‟s cosmology as brilliantly
articulated in Russell‟s research. In the Inferno the human soul is in a constant
state of downward sinking into the depths of Hell with God‟s love and
righteousness as the only preserver of life to draw one upward.
Figure 18. Illustration 34 of Divine Comedy:Inferno by Paul Gustave Dore (1832-1883).
Dante‟s giant Satan stuck in ice opposes everything that is right, holy, and of God.
Satan‟s desire for our souls stems from a long tradition in theology, art,
and literature. Satan‟s desire is expressed metaphorically and often as a literal
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craving for our souls, referring to the act of ingestion. Peter 5:8 reads, “Be sober,
be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about,
seeking whom he may devour.” Many unforgettable moments in Dante‟s journey
throughout the circles of Hell are haunting, but the depiction of Satan in Canto 34
is by far the most unforgettable image of Satan. As a three-faced demonic parody
of the holy trinity, he remains in a constant state of mastication while each head
tries to ingest the three greatest traitors of all time: Judas Iscariot, Cassius, and
Brutus. The following excerpt captures the climactic moment as Dante lays eyes
on Satan.
Oh quanto parve a me gran maraviglia
quand' io vidi tre facce a la sua testa!
L'una dinanzi, e quella era vermiglia;
l'altr' eran due, che s'aggiugnieno a questa
sovresso 'l mezzo di ciascuna spalla,
e sé giugnieno al loco de la cresta:
e la destra parea tra bianca e gialla;
la sinistra a vedere era tal, quali
vegnon di là onde 'l Nilo s'avvalla.
Sotto ciascuna uscivan due grand' ali,
quanto si convenia a tanto uccello:
vele di mar non vid' io mai cotali.
Non avean penne, ma di vispistrello
era lor modo; e quelle svolazzava,
sì che tre venti si movean da ello:
quindi Cocito tutto s'aggelava.
Con sei occhi piangëa, e per tre menti
gocciava 'l pianto e sanguinosa bava.
Da ogne bocca dirompea co' denti
un peccatore, a guisa di maciulla,
sì che tre ne facea così dolenti.
A quel dinanzi il mordere era nulla
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verso 'l graffiar, che tal volta la schiena
rimanea de la pelle tutta brulla.
"Quell' anima là sù c'ha maggior pena,"
disse 'l maestro, "è Giuda Scarïotto,
che 'l capo ha dentro e fuor le gambe mena.
De li altri due c'hanno il capo di sotto,
quel che pende dal nero ceffo è Bruto:
vedi come si storce, e non fa motto!;
e l'altro è Cassio, che par sì membruto.
Ma la notte risurge, e oramai
è da partir, ché tutto avem veduto."(37-69)
O, what a marvel it appeared to me,
When I beheld three faces on his head!
The one in front, and that vermilion was;
Two were the others, that were joined with this
Above the middle part of either shoulder,
And they were joined together at the crest;
And the right-hand one seemed 'twixt white and yellow;
The left was such to look upon as those
Who come from where the Nile falls valley-ward.
Underneath each came forth two mighty wings,
Such as befitting were so great a bird;
Sails of the sea I never saw so large.
No feathers had they, but as of a bat
Their fashion was; and he was waving them,
So that three winds proceeded forth there from.
Thereby Cocytus wholly was congealed.
With six eyes did he weep, and down three chins
Trickled the tear-drops and the bloody drivel.
At every mouth he with his teeth was crunching
A sinner, in the manner of a brake,
So that he three of them tormented thus.
To him in front the biting was as naught
Unto the clawing, for sometimes the spine
Utterly stripped of all the skin remained.
"That soul up there which has the greatest pain,"
The Master said, "is Judas Iscariot;
With head inside, he plies his legs without.
Of the two others, who head downward are,
The one who hangs from the black jowl is Brutus;
See how he writhes himself, and speaks no word.
And the other, who so stalwart seems, is Cassius.
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But night is reascending, and 'tis time
That we depart, for we have seen the whole." (37-69)
The image of Satan with sinners in his mouth can also be seen in other areas of
medieval art such as the Harrowing of Hell which is illustrated in figure 10. The
Van Eyck oil painting titled The Last Judgment was transferred onto canvas from
wood and usually sits adjacent to the Crucifixion painting. The Last Judgment
(see figure 19) depicts demonic creatures and devils with sinners in their mouths
torturing them for eternity following the motif shared by many other fifteenthcentury artists. We will discuss Milton‟s Paradise Lost in detail later, but for the
moment let me briefly mention that he also uses metaphorical expressions relating
to digestion in Book 6 when Satan introduces gunpowder canons during the
second day of the war between the angels in heaven.
The theme of satanic desire for our soul found in The Castle of Perseverance
can also be seen in Christopher Marlowe‟s Dr. Faustus, which is considered a
literary classic bridging the gap between the medieval era and the Renaissance.
Using the same model that was used to reflect the medieval world and its
perception of Satan, supporting Russell‟s idea of a Satan in flux, one can clearly
see a shift in this era from an identity interconnected to one‟s community to that
of an individual identity not connected to a larger body. This is a product of the
post-reformation crisis of authority, which is a precursor for the Enlightenment.
Around this time philosophers such as Descartes begin to doubt the existence of
everything including God and Satan, leading to a narcissistic perception of reality,
which in turn develops into what we now consider modern philosophy. Marlowe‟s
Dr Faustus represents all of these concepts and his Satan (Mephistopheles) is a
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sophisticated gentleman who manipulates, distracts, and twists Faustus into a
series of phenomenological dilemmas while upholding the traditions of earlier
medieval drama. John D. Cox writes:
Despite brilliant conformity to the tradition, Dr Faustus creates a skeptical
and deconstructive context that effectively subverts the orthodox meaning
of the tradition. Nonetheless, the tradition persisted in drama and
elsewhere, virtually unchanged, long after Dr. Faustus, suggesting that
Marlowe‟s play is an aberration where demonic desire for the soul is
concerned, no matter how influential it was in other ways. Marlowe
disguised his skepticism successfully beneath a veil of orthodox
damnation, and assumptions were too deeply seated to recognize what he
had done – much less to imitate it. (30)
Prior to the performance or publication of Faustus the notion of human
autonomy (something that would appear so obvious in the Enlightenment) was
completely foreign. Cox observes that no one had any real way of envisioning
their soul as “belonging to one‟s self (though the soul was thought of as the true
self and one was morally responsible for its destiny): it either belonged to God or
the devil” (30).
When Mephistopheles exclaims in an aside “What will I not do to obtain his soul!”
(71), he reveals the unexpressed desire within him to obtain complete power over
Faustus‟s soul in the present and for eternity. Mephistopheles takes great joy in
misdirecting Faustus. When Faustus cuts his arm in order to sign a pact with the devil in
his own blood, the wound heals immediately. Faustus finds this odd, but Mephistopheles
immediately creates a diversion. Right after this moment Faustus looks down and sees
the phrase “Homo fuge!” appear on his arm, a Latin phrase that translates into “Man
Fly!” In other words it is an act of divine intervention signaling Faustus to leave
immediately. The following dialogue captures Mephistopheles‟s trickery well. After his
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wound heals and he cannot write with his blood anymore, the following dialogue takes
place:
Figure 19 Crucifixion and The Last Judgment, Jan van Eyck, 1420-25.
Illustrates the medieval motif of ingestion used to express Satan‟s desire for our
souls.
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Faustus. Ay so I do: but Mephistopheles,
My blood congeals and I can write no more.
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Mephistopheles. I‟ll fetch thee fire to dissolve it straight.
(He Exits)
Faustus. What might the staying of blood portend?
Is it unwilling I should write this bill? [He is starting to worry]
Why streams it not that I may write afresh?
“Faustus gives thee his soul”: ah there it stayed.
Why shouldn‟t thou not? Is not thy soul thine own?
Then write it again: “Faustus gives to thee his soul.”
(Enter Mephistopheles with a chafer of fire)
Mephistopheles. See Faustus here is fire: set it on.
Faustus. So, now the blood begins to clear again:
Now will I make an end immediately.
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Mephistopheles. What will not I do to obtain his soul!
Faustus. Consummatum est: [It is finished] This bill is ended
And Faustus hath bequeathed his soul to Lucifer.
But what is this inscription on mine arm?
Homo fuge! Whither should I fly?
If unto God, he‟ll throw me down to hellMy senses are deceived, here‟s nothing writ.O yes, I see it plain; even here is writ
Homo fuge! Yet shall not Faustus fly.
Mephistopheles. I‟ll fetch him somewhat [created things] to delight his
Mind.
(He Exits)
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(Enter devils giving crowns and rich apparel to Faustus: they dance and then
they depart.)
(2.1.59-80)
Mephistopheles appeals to Faustus‟s desire to be rich and powerful which
parallels the relationship between mankind and the vices found in many of the
medieval plays we have looked at. Faustus desires “a world of profit and delight,
of power, of honor, of omnipotence” (1.1.55–6). Mephistopheles uses Faustus‟s
fleshly desires as diversion tactics. His double dealings do not end there,
however, and are problematic throughout the entire play. Mephistopheles is
complicated on many levels for we are not certain as to when he is telling the
truth or lying. Obviously, Satan is considered a liar and rarely tells the truth, but
there are several occasions where Mephistopheles actually reveals the truth which
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leaves us a little puzzled. For instance, in the following scene Faustus asks an
interesting question and Mephistopheles appears to answer it truthfully:
Faustus. Stay, Mephistopheles, and tell me, what good
will my soul do thy lord?
Mephistopheles. Enlarge his kingdom.
Faustus. Is that the reason he tempts us thus?
Mephistopheles. Solamen miseris socios habuisse doloris. [Misery
loves company] (2.1.38–42)
In an earlier scene Faustus questions the origins of Mephistopheles‟s master, Lucifer,
and he responds truthfully following the traditional narrative:
Faustus. Tell me what is that Lucifer thy lord?
Mephistopheles. Arch-regent and commander of all spirits.
Faustus. Was not that Lucifer an angel once?
Mephistopheles. Yes, Faustus, and dearly loved of God.
Faustus. How comes it then that he is prince of devils?
Mephistopheles. O, by aspiring pride and insolence,
For which God threw him from the face of heaven. (1.3.64–70)
Cox explains, “In other words, Mephistopheles tells the truth occasionally as
an exercise in reverse psychology, successfully manipulating his victim to reject
traditional limitations, because that rejection puts Faustus‟s soul more firmly in
the devil‟s grasp” (41). When Faustus begins to feel remorse and contemplates
repentance, Mephistopheles changes his disposition completely reverting to
“threats and lies” (Cox 41) regarding the authenticity of the pact he has made with
the devil. This mixture of truth and dishonesty creates a satanic character truly
unique from the medieval representations of Satan.
Throughout the play Mephistopheles refers to the pact as “irrevocable,” but his
desire to keep Faustus in his control makes it appear that even after the pact has
been signed there is a chance Faustus could still turn to God. To support this
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point let our attention shift to the memorable moment when the infernal trinity
appears after Faustus has called out to Christ. When Faustus cries out, “Ah,
Christ my Savior, seek to save distressed Fautus‟ Soul!” (2.3.82–3) the stage
directions call for Mephistopheles, Lucifer, and Beelzebub to immediately enter.
Why do the devils take the stage? And more importantly why doesn‟t God make
an entrance? I would argue that in this moment Marlowe breaks the medieval
tradition of portraying an intervening God who gives grace and mercy in
abundance. Even in the Castle of Perseverance as Humanus Genus dies he cries
out for mercy and God saves him. Marlowe‟s Satan is arguably victorious for
Faustus is “dominated and destroyed” (Cox 43). In the end Marlowe gives us a
much more compelling character of Satan than of God.
Marlowe‟s Dr. Faustus is ambiguous and problematic when read in a
traditional sense, such as medieval morality play reading, but perhaps Marlowe‟s
intention was not to question the issue of God or Satan and the destiny of our
soul, but rather our own human autonomy. John Cox concludes, “The tragedy of
Faustus is not that he damns himself, but that he is the only one in this play who
intensely desires his soul and yet cannot obtain it” (44). Faustus cannot obtain his
own soul because God and Satan are in a constant battle over it. There is also
heated controversy that surrounds Faustus scholarship where one side argues that
Marlowe is implying Calvinism and the other Anti-Calvinism, which dominated
the writings of English scholars in the latter half of the sixteenth century. If
repentance means nothing to Faustus and in the end he is not saved, perhaps God
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had not predestined him to be saved explaining his line, "What doctrine call you
this? Que sera, sera [What will be, shall be]” (1.1.46).
Milton‟s Paradise Lost is very different in nature than Marlowe‟s Faustus;
however, a unifying theme binds them together. Both literary works not only
deliver matchless Satan characters that have shaped our preconceived ideas of
who Satan is (without us even knowing it), but each literary work emphasizes the
pursuit of knowledge and the irrevocable consequences of obtaining such
knowledge. These classic works are metaphorical critiques of a changing society
where human autonomy and an elevation of self are sought after. Milton‟s
Paradise Lost is the final work that will be discussed in this research paper. I
have chosen to discuss Milton last not because of a chronological time line I have
been following, although if I was he would indeed come next, but instead because
I am convinced that his work has been the most influential narrative in regards to
Satan, the dramatization of the battle between the archangels and the legions led
by Satan, and the fall of Adam and Eve.
Many new readers of Milton‟s work might side with the sixteenth-century
English writer Sir Walter Raleigh, who labeled Paradise Lost as a “monument to
dead ideas” (Hawkes 14). Paradise Lost editor David Hawkes continues to say,
“Milton believed that truth was historical” (14), and that it changed and evolved
paralleling society. History is a narrative that is continuously revealing itself in a
new way. In his Areopagitica, edited by Thomas Luxon, Milton writes, “The
light which we have gain‟d was giv‟n us, not to be ever staring on, but by it to
discover onward things more remote from our knowledge”(Luxon). In other
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words, truth is a journey and more often than not is considered a destination. He
continues, “Let Truth and Falsehood grapple; who ever knew Truth puts to wors,
in a free and open encounter” (Luxon, Areopagitica).
In Paradise Lost, the character that rebels against this historical and
dialectical view of truth, boasting of his “mind not to be chang‟d by place
or time” (1.253) is Satan. Satan also denies the fact that he was created by
a power beyond himself, instigates the idolatrous worship of signs,
transmits his materialist approach to the world to human beings, and
inculcates in them an empty, self-destructive hedonism. There is a good
case to be made that the power Milton calls “Satan” has, in the twenty-first
century, finally conquered the world. Paradise Lost is the prophetic story
of how he achieved his triumph. There could be no idea less “dead” than
that. (Hawkes 14)
Paradise Lost presents a complex conflict between good and evil which has
been the central theme in most of our discussion of medieval drama. If one
possesses a monotheist belief in God, it requires a belief also in an apparent evil
that is a part of this divine plan, which if created by a benevolent must ultimately
be good. Milton, however, adopts the Manichaean view of evil as an independent
force which can be seen in the character development of Satan, which is mostly
told by archangels Raphael and Michael to Adam and Eve through a series of
stories. When these characters begin to recount the events of the past such as the
battle between the archangels and the rebel angels, a disclaimer is repeatedly
given. Although the speaker is attempting to articulate the experience, he stresses
that it is impossible to represent noumena in terms of phenomena. Take into
consideration the following portion of text where Raphael struggles to help Adam
understand something that cannot be understood by humanity:
Thus Adam made request; and Raphael,
After short pause assenting, thus began:
High matter thou enjoin‟st me, O prime of men,
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Sad task and hard; for how shall I relate
To human sense th‟invisble exploits
Of warring spirits? How, without remorse,
The ruin of so many, glorious once,
And perfect while they stood? How, last, unfold
The secrets of another world, perhaps
Not lawful to reveal? Yet for thy good” (5.561-570)
Raphael concludes that the only way that Adam and Eve will understand these
supernatural events is through an extended metaphorical narrative using imagery
to aid in human comprehension. Throughout the story we are frequently warned
that the action detailed is a figural representation of the spiritual realm. Hawkes
remarks: “We can only understand those events if we take account of the fact that
they are mediated for us through contingent human discourse” (31). This is clear
in the following lines:
Immediate are the acts of God, more swift
Than time or motion but to human ears
Cannot without process of speech be told,
So told as earthy notion can receive (7.176-179)
Moreover, it is evident that one who reads Milton must be able to read with a
literal understanding as well as a symbolic one. Paradise Lost is also considered
a theological work requiring an element of hermeneutics or textual interpretation.
Milton deals with spiritual warfare between metaphysical beings, the history of
the world raising issues of government, warfare, and economics, while also
exploring human psychological issues. The most interesting component in my
opinion though is the personification of evil in the figure of Satan.
According to Hawkes, Milton defines sin as the refusal to recognize, “this is
the sin of Satan, whose basic mistake is the failure to understand that the
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difference between himself and God is qualitative, rather than quantitative” (36).
Satan does not recognize the difference between the created and the Creator
leading to his fixation of the usurpation of God‟s throne. Satan, refusing to
recognize the truth of God‟s superiority of him, believed that by obtaining
strength in numbers he would grow to be stronger than God.
As seen before in medieval dramatic representations of the fall of Lucifer, an
absurdity to Satan‟s arrogance is captured in Paradise Lost, as well as a level of
madness when Satan is trying to elevate himself to an equal platform with God.
Satan believes himself to be self sufficient and autonomous, rejecting the notion
that he was created by God. Throughout the poem Milton repeatedly reminds us
that this is the root of satanic consciousness, the failure of a created being to
accept the existence of their creator.
Although Satan‟s devotion to evil throughout the poem cannot be overlooked,
at moments one cannot help but feel sympathetic towards him, differentiating
Milton‟s Satan from all others. In the following excerpt Satan‟s interior
monologue is revealed as he confesses the pain and alienation he has felt,
revealing an element of humanity and ambivalence that is not often associated
with him:
O thou that with surpassing Glory crown‟d,
Look'st from thy sole Dominion like the God
Of this new World; at whose sight all the Stars
Hide their diminish‟d heads; to thee I call,
But with no friendly voice, and add thy name
O Sun, to tell thee how I hate thy beams
That bring to my remembrance from what state
I fell, how glorious once above thy Sphere;
Till Pride and worse Ambition threw me down
40
Warring in Heav'n against Heav'ns matchless King:
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Ah wherefore! he deserv‟d no such return
From me, whom he created what I was
In that bright eminence, and with his good
Upbraided none; nor was his service hard.
What could be less then to afford him praise,
The easiest recompense, and pay him thanks,
Figure 20. Gustave Doré. Depiction of Satan, the antagonist of John Milton's Paradise Lost. 1866.
How due! yet all his good prov'd ill in me,
And wrought but malice; lifted up so high
I sdain‟d subjection, and thought one step higher
Would set me highest, and in a moment quit
The debt immense of endless gratitude,
So burdensome, still paying, still to ow;
Forgetful what from him I still receiv‟d,
50
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And understood not that a grateful mind
By owing owes not, but still pays, at once
Indebted and discharg‟d; what burden then?
O had his powerful Destiny ordain‟d
Me some inferior Angel, I had stood
Then happy; no unbounded hope had rais'd
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Ambition. Yet why not? som other Power
As great might have aspir'd, and me though mean
Drawn to his part; but other Powers as great
Fell not, but stand unshak'n, from within
Or from without, to all temptations arm'd.
Hadst thou the same free Will and Power to stand?
Thou hadst: whom hast thou then or what to accuse,
But Heav'ns free Love dealt equally to all?
Be then his Love accurst, since love or hate,
To me alike, it deals eternal woe.
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Nay curs'd be thou; since against his thy will
Chose freely what it now so justly rues.
Me miserable! which way shall I fly
Infinite wrauth, and infinite despair?
Which way I flie is Hell; my self am Hell;
And in the lowest deep a lower deep
Still threat‟ning to devour me opens wide,
To which the Hell I suffer seems a Heav'n.
O then at last relent: is there no place
Left for Repentance, none for Pardon left? (4.32-80)
Satan‟s dramatic soliloquy uncovers his self-criticism and inner turmoil,
naturally separating him from the other characters which arguably lack
dimension. An interesting factor of this soliloquy is Satan‟s admission of his own
rebellion and his responsibility for his own fall. He shows remorse while
simultaneously displaying a sense of defiance. According to John Carey, “He
confesses that his rebellion was completely unjustifiable, that he had the same
„free will and power to stand‟ as all God‟s creatures, and that he therefore has
nothing to accuse „but heaven‟s free love dealt equally to all‟” (163). Heaven‟s
love is the reason behind his eternal damnation causing him to curse it, but then in
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doing so he also curses himself. When Satan admits that God was right, a
redeeming quality surfaces, generating mixed feelings towards his character.
In this loaded speech Milton also brings up the very controversial issue of the
redemption of Satan. Satan admits that even he if he were allowed to go to
heaven, he would just fall again ascertaining the idea that he is destined to fall and
cannot function without becoming proud. Milton strategically builds upon the
idea that God is merciful because he does not give mercy to Satan by letting him
back into heaven, where he would risk falling again. Although this doctrinal issue
of Satan possibly being forgiven was debated by many theologians during
Milton‟s lifetime, one can clearly conclude that Milton did not buy into this logic.
One might briefly entertain the idea of Satan being redeemable based on the
teachings that God is omnipotent and that this would not be an impossible task for
him, but Milton‟s response to this dilemma is simple. He makes perfectly clear
that Satan‟s irredeemability is the fault of no one else, but solely of himself.
Paradise Lost is so comprehensive and epic in nature that one could spend
years and years excavating the hidden details and layers of the fictitious world
Milton has created finding a multitude of parallels throughout history, postmodern society, and beyond. The character of Satan is no exception. Milton‟s
Satan has been the topic of debate for centuries now and it will not stop. Just as
Milton defines truth as a journey not a destination, we see Satan in a similar light.
Satan in this illuminated light becomes something far greater than what medieval
audiences could ever have imagined. He is a reflection of humanity.
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I find it very poignant that this journey through the satanic phenomenon
temporally concludes with Milton‟s Paradise Lost. It is absolutely fascinating to
see the vastness of Milton scholarship that is available at our finger tips.
Scholars, theologians, and readers have not stopped the ongoing discussion of the
transcendence of Milton‟s work. Paradise Lost can be haunting, and very easily
overshadows the medieval representation of Satan. Once it has penetrated the
surface of your mind, it sinks deep into your subconscious and suddenly
everything is relatable to the narrative and the characters, especially Satan. Satan
is portrayed in such a way where one cannot deny his courage, strength, and
leadership qualities, but sadly this „talent‟ is squandered because of pride and
selfishness. Doesn‟t this sound like a person we all know in our lives? “They are
just so darn talented, but they just threw it all away! What a waste!”
The work of Milton, Marlowe, and Dante has shaped the Christian and secular
view of Satan, the issue of evil, the demonic, and Hell. These influential works
are only a continuation of a long tradition of satanic representations in mythology,
folklore, art, literature, and drama. Each literary work represents the ever
evolving culture and religio-political climate of that particular time and the
writer‟s experience in that world. Therefore, the issue of Satan‟s existence is not
necessarily in question. Regardless of one‟s belief in Satan‟s existence or not,
Satan undeniably appears as an historical concept as well as a theological one.
From Jewish tradition to the work of Hildegard, throughout the medieval world,
and into the Renaissance Satan is present and weaving himself into society. Is it
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Satan weaving himself into the fabric of our daily lives, or instead is it our own
hand that has included him in each scene as if we need him to be there?
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Conclusion
In the opening chapter, I introduced Satan (or the devil) as a figure not
exclusive to Christianity, and through a variety of references illustrated the
historical development of an evil force in the universe personified by Satan.
Throughout each chapter the reoccurring theme of a Satan in flux has surfaced,
beginning with the theories of scholars such as Jeffrey Burton Russell and of John
Dominic Crossan, where Satan shifts from the persona of “inspector general” to
that of the tempter.
The Judaic idea of the yester-ba-toh (tendencies toward good) and the yesterba-rah (tendencies towards bad) that we all possess connected to the notion of
free will, plays a critical role in our need to define evil. Every medieval play
examined in this project including Dr. Faustus has in some way presented the
conflict first introduced as yester; the conflict of our will, ultimately paralleled by
the fall of Satan, when his own will towards evil, yester-ba-rah, was exercised.
Satan then became the personification of only the yester-ba-rah, when he once
was personified as both. Satan‟s evolution from “adversary” to enemy in the
early years of Christianity altered the perception of evil permanently placing him
at the crux of the necessity for Salvation and Christ‟s destruction of evil.
The origin of evil is a thought-provoking subject matter that deserves further
research, but my original intention for this research project was to briefly touch on
the origin of Satan in order to further explore the medieval fascination with Satan
manifested in cycle and morality plays. As we discussed in chapter three, the
Corpus Christi cycles present the entire history of salvation in a processional
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manner, each one building upon the next, therefore building up Satan‟s role in
salvation history to a higher stature through each play. Satan‟s inclusion in the
cycle play transcends Biblical teaching, creating a fully involved character
transposed into any Biblical scene needing a villain, evil master mind, or comic
relief. Once the morality play became popular and an interpretive freedom began
to emerge among the people, Satan returns to his roots in a modified
personification of both forms of yester. The word modified may be a strong
understatement, because Satan doesn‟t necessarily do anything good, as in moral,
to be considered the yester-ba-toh, but he represents two contrasting world views
simultaneously. He is the antagonist of the Biblical tradition, perceived from a
distance, the quintessential opposite of God, but also viewed as the
personification of things that inherently represent humanity, making him
accessible, up close, and personal to the laity. Audience members knew Satan‟s
role in salvation history. They knew his evil motives, his vigorous appetite for the
soul, and his relentless efforts to overthrow God, and in spite of all of these things
found an enjoyment in his presence and a desire to see more of him. Moreover,
the character of Satan becomes an open vehicle ready for the insertion of any
popular satire or social commentary. The bizarre dichotomy of good and evil,
pain and pleasure, comedy and tragedy work together to create an understanding
of Satan that is worthy of further research and scholarship.
Chapter five explores the literary genius of Dante, Marlowe, and Milton.
Marlowe delivers a sophisticated, metaphysical play representing the skepticism
of modern science, while also paying homage to the medieval morality play.
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How would early medieval audiences have reacted to Mephistopheles? There is
no doubt that the dramatic nature of Faustus, while even paralleling some
medieval plays, would have been unsettling for many medieval audiences, which
then raises the issue of Dante and Milton. Inferno and Paradise Lost, both literary
masterpieces, reveal a vision of Satan and the underworld so incredible, so
terrifying and intense, that readers, myself included, would have a hard time ever
recovering from it. Fueling the imagination with detailed imagery of the unseen
darkness of hell, with his gigantic representation of Satan, Dante created
something unstageable, and so grotesque that audiences stand at distance in fear.
The epic nature of Paradise Lost has also placed it in the category of
unstageable and unfilmable. Ambitious filmmakers have dreamt of creating a
film based on Paradise Lost, screen plays have been written through the years,
but once the magnitude of the project is realized, the whole operation is shut
down due to its complexity, the character of Satan and the depiction of evil being
one of these issues.
Too often we underestimate the unique representation of Satan found in the
medieval world, using our contemporary understanding of evil and Christianity to
decipher meaning. We inadvertently gauge satanic representations by the images
that have been instilled in our minds through literature, art, and film. When
viewed through the eyes of the medieval world a different perspective emerges,
and Satan transcends the restraints of Biblical tradition, mythology, and our own
creative limitations.
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